


The Holiday Engagement

by Bowthaisarecool



Series: The Holiday series [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arianne is a Bad Bitch™, Arranged Marriage, BUT.... his step mama is Elia, Christmas, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Humor, Jon Snow is a Targaryen, Miscommunication, Modern Royalty, More tags to be added, Mutual Pining, but like he's not featured too much either so, dany is NOT a targ in this one, holiday fic, i mean they've been engaged since they were babies, rhaegar's not a COMPLETE asshole in this one, yeah in this AU Lyanna was the first wife and Elia was the second, you'll see why - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28068231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowthaisarecool/pseuds/Bowthaisarecool
Summary: Prince Jon Targaryen and Lady Sansa Stark have been betrothed since as long as they could remember. Catelyn thinks that it's time for Sansa to get to know her future in-laws better, so Sansa has accepted the Royal Family's invitation to spend the holidays with her future husband and his family. It looks like Sansa's taking the next flight out to King's Landing!tldr;you know those predictably cheesy netflix and hallmark christmas movies? yeah? okay, imagine that, but with a jonsa twist!
Relationships: Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Series: The Holiday series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085477
Comments: 362
Kudos: 331





	1. a partridge in a pear tree

**Author's Note:**

> okayokayokay i _know_ what you're thinking. Kitty, ANOTHER christmas fic? on top of OTHER wips?  
> well, yes, actually. 
> 
> look, i've just been binging every single cheesy, cringey, feel-good holiday movie on netlfix and i REALLY WANTED TO READ A JONSA ONE OKAY?  
> is this a plea to other authors to write a jonsa holiday fic too? why yes, yes it is.  
> ANYWAYS-  
> Countdown of 12 days till Christmas starts now! 🎅🤶🎄🌟

“Do I have to go?”

Lady Catelyn sighed at her daughter. “Yes, my sweet. You’ll be married next year, don’t you think you two should get to know each other?”

“We _already_ know each other, Mother.” She knew that wasn’t what her mother meant, but Sansa still had to try, no matter how futile.

“Seeing each other a few times a year for a day doesn’t really count as ‘knowing each other,’ does it? Besides, I’m fairly certain Robb and Arya spend more time with Prince Jon than you do during those visits. We’ll just be a phone call away if you need us, love.” Catelyn had a thought and suddenly stopped brushing her daughter’s hair. She looked at Sansa through the vanity mirror. “You want this, right Sansa? If you don’t, darling, tell me _now._ You have a choice in this.”

It was Sansa’s turn to sigh. She knew she had a choice. Her parents made sure to ask for her thoughts and opinions of this when she was fifteen. And again when she was eighteen. She and Jon have been betrothed for as long as she could remember. At fifteen, she idolized the idea of one day becoming a princess of the realm. Of marrying the Prince and taking on the title and responsibilities as Duchess to Dragonstone. Of one day being the Queen of King’s Landing. At eighteen though, she no longer wanted pretty titles. She just wanted happiness. 

But then Sansa looked at her older brother, who had fallen in love with someone who was _not_ a candidate as future Lady of Winterfell. A woman who he almost left his claim and titles for, which he didn't thanks to Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn's intervention. Robb could marry who he wished, _of course,_ but he must keep to his responsibilities.

And then Sansa looked at her younger sister, who already had eyes for Lord Baratheon's boy. His _illegitimate_ boy. She knew her younger sister to be willful though, and Sansa couldn't fault her for wanting to find love and happiness. Besides, the second daughter didn’t have the same expectations as the first, after all. 

And so Sansa knew what she had to do. _Family, Duty, Honor._ She lived by her mother’s House words. She had always put her family’s happiness before anything else and she’ll be damned if she didn't do everything she could to ensure her siblings' happiness and her family's prosperity. So she would do her duty as the daughter of the Earl of Winterfell. Sansa could only hope that in doing so, she would bring honor to her family, current _and_ future.

“I want this, Mother.” Sansa turned around to look at her mother now. “I know I have the choice, and I _love_ you and Father for giving me one. I’m just… nervous is all. It’ll be the first Christmas that I’m not home for. And this is my duty. I want to do it well.” A small smile formed on her face. “Besides, King Rhaegar already made that unofficial announcement of our engagement three years ago, remember?” Her mother answered with a small grin and a shake of her head.

Oh Catelyn remembered alright. The entire Targaryen Royal family had visited for Sansa’s twenty-first nameday. And the King had gotten into his cups so much that he made a toast, declaring that out of all the other noble families who wanted their daughters to marry his son, Sansa was always his first and only choice. Said he found a dove in the midst of partridges. Sansa was the perfect bride-to-be for his eldest son and that he was glad of their engagement. 

Sansa remembered that night all too well. And she remembered Prince Jon’s very red face. The Prince looked none too happy at his father’s declaration. That moment was the first and only time she ever felt any doubt for their union. But, oh, he was still very kind to her. He was polite to her, gave her the perfunctory dance, and got along well with her family. So she took that as a good sign and accepted to the engagement. She resigned to herself that this marriage, at the least, will be a kind one.

Catelyn cleared her throat. “Alright then, love. But if you’re sure you want this marriage, then you must accept the King and Queen’s invitation for the holidays. You should get to know your future family better. After you turn twenty-five next year, you’ll have to really start planning your wedding _and_ eventual move to the Red Keep.” Sansa turned back around and her mother continued brushing her hair and said softly, “I know you’re worried about this marriage. But you know, your father and I didn’t love each other at first either. We were almost strangers actually, not like how you and Jon grew up knowing each other. But we built our love over time. Stone by stone.”

Sansa nodded at her mother’s words of encouragement. “Stone by stone,” she repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also i feel like it should be noted that i have NO IDEA how noble honorifics and titles work LOL i kinda just winged it so if that's something that bothers you and i did it wrong... oops


	2. two turtle doves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 2 of countdown till Jonsa Christmas!  
> you've met our leading lady, time to see what our leading man is up to!

“And you’re sure she’s coming?”

Queen Elia laughed softly at her son. She may not have given birth to Jon, but he definitely gets his anxiousness and fidgeting from her. “Yes, Jon, she’s coming. Her plane should be arriving next week actually. You’re not nervous are you?” she teased him.

“No,” he stubbornly replied. “I’m just making sure everything is in order.”

Jon would be lying if he said he wasn’t just a little anxious. Sure, he’s known Sansa since they were children. But it's not like they've been particularly close; he blames that on the unspoken knowledge of their future marriage. What do you say to a girl who you know you'll eventually be marrying in the future? It doesn't matter now. They're adults and she’ll be spending the holidays with him and his family this year. And he feels awful about it. He’s certain she probably wants to spend it with her family, seeing as this would most likely be the last Christmas that she would have as Lady Sansa Stark. He’s almost positive that next year, they’ll be married by Christmastime. His father will insist on a wedding as soon as possible. 

The King has been waiting for this union for years, but he wanted to respect the Starks’ wishes that Sansa would not wed until after her 25th nameday. Or, more like _Jon and Elia_ wanted to respect the Starks’ wishes. Some say King Rhaegar wanted this marriage to happen soon because he wanted Jon to start having children. Others say it’s because the Starks are a reminder for the King of his late wife and he wants to see that union come again in his son and the Stark daughter. 

Jon’s mother was a distant cousin of the Starks and because of that relation, they used to visit quite often. But then he was eight and his mother died; and the visits were less frequent. And then he was sixteen when he was reminded of his engagement to the Lady Sansa. Sure, they saw each other a couple of times every year, but nameday celebrations and political functions weren’t exactly the place for intimate conversations to get to know your future spouse. His father didn’t help. It doesn’t matter how jovial he sounded, drunkenly announcing his and Sansa’s engagement like that on her nameday must’ve been humiliating for her. Jon was so angry with his father that night. Luckily, Elia stepped in and smoothly ushered the rest of the night away from all thoughts of Jon and Sansa’s engagement. Jon didn’t think he could be anymore thankful for Elia than in that moment. 

Jon groaned. “Mother, I’m just… worried. What if she doesn’t like how we celebrate Christmas over here? What if she has her own family traditions that she prefers? What if-”

“My darling boy, _stop._ There’s no point in what-ifs. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.” She smirked at her son before adding, “Besides, if there are certain traditions she’d like to do, I’m sure you’ll be able to make them happen for her. You’re very accommodating when you want to be, you know.” 

Before Jon could ask her what she meant by _that,_ the dining room was suddenly filled with shouting.

“Mama! Rhaenys won’t let me go riding with her!” 

The eleven year old Princess glared at her brother. “He’s a _baby!_ And he always slows me down!”

“I’m not a _baby,”_ protested the young Prince.

Following the two rambunctious children was the King himself. And he looked exhausted. 

“Goodmorning, love,” he greeted Elia and then nodded to his son, “Jon.”

Jon shared a laugh with his mother at the two children before standing up from the table and scooping up his eight year old brother. “Tell you what. How about I take you with me today? We’re going to be visiting the bakery to pick out some desserts.”

Aegon’s eyes widened. “Can we get pastries for me?!”

Rhaenys suddenly looked interested. “Why are you going to the bakery?”

“Jon has to make sure the desserts for next week are in order,” Elia replied to her daughter, “You know how important Christmas is. Especially this year.” She smiled mischievously to Jon.

“Mother,” Jon said warningly.

“What? I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

“Why’s it especially important this year, Mama?” Aegon asked his mother.

“We have a special guest, remember?”

“Lady Sansa!” Rhaenys said enthusiastically. “I _love_ Lady Sansa. She’s thoughtful and nice and plays with me!” 

“Yes, my sweet,” Elia said adoringly to her daughter, “We all love Lady Sansa.”

Jon, uncomfortable and wanting to leave this conversation, cleared his throat. “Right, well, Mother and Father have so graciously given me the task of making sure all of the preparations for the Christmas Ball are in order. And that includes finalizing the menu. ” He then looked down knowingly at his younger sister. “Would you like to come to the bakery with us, Rhae?”

Rhaenys pursed her lips before declining. “No, Cousin Arianne promised she’d go riding with me. And she leaves for Dorne right after Christmas, so I want to go riding with her as much as possible. But will you bring me back a chocolate cupcake? Those are my favourite!”

Jon smiled and agreed. “Of course I will!”

The Lords and Ladys of court could whisper all they wanted about how impassive and aloof the Prince was, especially to his stepmother and half-siblings, but they didn’t see how he was behind closed doors. He loved his stepmother and his siblings and loved indulging in their wishes. Prince Jon simply doesn’t agree with public displays of affection. He finds it uncomfortable. Besides, according to his father, it’s unbecoming for a Prince of the realm to show such emotion. 

With that said, he got up from the table and kissed his mother’s cheek and nodded to his father. “Well, we should probably be going soon then.” He winked at his little sister. _“So_ much to do in such little time. You have a fun time with Arianne, alright? Mother, Father. I’ll go inform Oswell to have the car ready. Aegon, come meet me when you’ve finished your breakfast?”

“Okay!”

Jon gave his mother a last look and walked off to find his head of security. 

Rhaegar quirked a brow at his wife and Elia sighed. She knew Jon sometimes had trouble showing his affections and she prayed to all the gods, Old and New, that the Lady Sansa will be able to find the good and sweetness that she knows is in Jon’s heart. All Elia wants for her son is to find happiness. 


	3. three french hens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 3 of countdown of 12 days of Jonsa Christmas!!  
> just a lil more background until our loves meet, i promiseeee

**In Winterfell**

“And you’ve packed enough clothes right?” Catelyn was checking over Sansa’s luggage one more time. “You know, the weather is much warmer down South, even during this time of year. It hardly even snows there, you’ll need lighter coats and more dresses and-”

“Mother,” Sansa interrupted and gave her an exasperated smile, “Everything I need is all packed. I’m all ready to go.  _ Please  _ stop fretting!” She ended with a soft laugh. She knows her mother is just worrying about having Sansa away for the holidays.

“Yeah, Mother. Besides, she’s only leaving for what? A week? Less? It’s not like we’re rid of her just yet,” her little sister said wryly.

Sansa blinked. “Thanks, Arya. I think?”

Catelyn sighed. “I know, I know. I just wished we could be there with you. Perhaps I’ll phone them, let them know that I’ve accepted their invitation after all-”

“No,” Sansa shook her head, “This winter is the  _ worst  _ that the North has seen in years. The snow  _ and  _ the immediate rainfall has destroyed so much property. You have enough on your plate that’s actually important. Opening up Winterfell’s doors to the less fortunate smallfolk who don’t have the necessary provisions is our duty. It’s not just providing our people with a place to celebrate the holidays, we’re feeding them too. And it’s going to take a  _ lot  _ of work. You need to be here with Father. Robb certainly won’t be any help-”

“Hey!” 

“She’s right though.”

“Oh shut it, Arya.”

The corner of Sansa’s mouth twitched at her siblings before she continued. “You have your duties here, and I have mine in King’s Landing. I’m just sorry I have to be gone during such a stressful time for you.”

“Sansa.” The Heir to Winterfell look at his sister with annoyed affection. “Despite what you think, I  _ can _ handle charity work. Come on, have a little faith.”

Sansa rolled her eyes and amended her statement. “I  _ guess _ big brother Robb will be helpful.” Said older brother was still grumbling.

“I’m still sorry you did all this work and don’t get to see it come to fruition. I’m sure the gifts you had planned for the smallfolk will be greatly appreciated,” Catelyn said before sighing. “And I’m also sorry you have to be on your own in King’s Landing. I know we’ve been there many times before, but it’s been a while. I don’t want you feeling lonely.”

“But I won’t be lonely! Jeyne and Brienne will be coming with me.” 

Both Sansa’s assistant and personal guard, who were standing behind her, nodded in agreement.

“And I’m quite fond of Queen Elia and the little Princess Rhaenys. I’ll have all the company in the world,” she assured her mother. When she turned to her father, Sansa gave him the softest smile. Despite his serious face expression, Sansa could see the smallest hint of sadness in his eyes. “I’ll be  _ fine.  _ I’ll be spending time with my future family. I’ll have a lovely time!”

“Yeah,” the Young Lord Bran chimed in, “and if we really miss her face, we can always video-chat!”

“Bless the wonders of technology.” Sansa grinned fondly at her little brother.

As the family said more of their goodbyes, someone cleared a throat to get their attention.

“The car’s all packed now, Lord Stark.”

“Thank you, Jory,” he said to his head of security before turning back to his daughter. “You’ll call as soon as you land?”

“Yes, Father.”

“You call us the moment you feel like it’s too much, alright?”

“Yes, Father.”

“And you have a good time. Jon is a good man, he’ll treat you right.”

Sansa smiled tightly. “Yes, Father. Prince Jon is and he will.”

Catelyn sniffled, “Alright. Off you go now.”

As the family watched Sansa get into the car, the house staff discreetly excused themselves. This was a family moment. 

Robb looked at his parents and saw the sadness in their eyes. He needed to say something to take their minds off their worries. “So, Sansa leaves for a  _ week,  _ and you’re all up in tears. But when  _ I _ say I’m giving up my title as Heir to Winterfell, I get an eye-roll from Mother, a lecture from Father,  _ and _ smack upside the head from  _ the woman who I was doing it all for?”  _

Arya snorted.

“Yes, well, you were also the idiot boyfriend for not  _ telling  _ me of your circumstances when we dated,” Talisa remarked, “I would’ve never let you say something so stupid to your parents.”

“Agreed.” Catelyn raised a brow at her son. “You’re also the idiot  _ son  _ who didn’t even bother telling us you were dating anyone. Just assumed we’d say no.”

Huffing at how his distraction had turned into his -justified- verbal abuse, Robb started ushering everyone back inside, leaving his mother and father alone.

Catelyn stood and watched the gates close and the car finally disappearing from her view of the road. She couldn’t help but recall her daughter’s words.  _ And I’m quite fond of Queen Elia and the little Princess Rhaenys. I’ll have all the company in the world.  _ All the company in the world and yet no mention of her betrothed. Ned looked at his wife and saw the worried lines.

“She’ll be fine, Cat. You know she will.”

She nodded at her husband. “I know.” When Catelyn looked at her husband though, her eyes were glistening. Her voice cracked. “But Ned, you heard her. Our daughter will do her best to ensure everyone else’s needs and happiness before her own and call it  _ ‘duty.’ _ She deserves happiness too and I know Jon is a good, kind young man. But he’s not very…” Catelyn trailed off, but Ned understood. He found a quiet, romantic love with Catelyn. Robb found a passionate, exciting love in Talisa. He had hoped Sansa could find something like that too. Oh, they know she’ll have stability and love. Jon is a good man after all. But romance? They aren’t sure yet if Jon can provide her with that. 

\--

**Meanwhile, In King’s Landing**

_ “What?”  _ Jon was rubbing his temple as he listened to his father’s most trusted advisor. “What do you mean I have to review the funds again? I thought everything was finalized last week?”

The sound of a muffled reply came from the other end of the line. 

“Yes, Lord Connington, I  _ understand, _ but we’re not supposed to be doing any of that now. It’s almost Christmas and I have other obligations to attend to. Lady Sansa will- no. Yes, yes, of course. Fine, I’ll handle it.”

Jon hung up the phone and sighed. He had wanted to arrive at the airport early, but it looks like duty of the realm took precedence. Such is the life of the Crown Prince. 


	4. four calling birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaand we're at day 4 in our countdown till Christmas!  
> the first part of this chapter starts back from where we left Jon 2 chapters ago!

“Jon! I’m ready!”

Jon looked over to see Aegon running towards him. “Perfect timing Aegon! Wait for me in the car with Oswell, okay?”

“Sure!” Aegon turned to Jon’s companion. “Hi Mr. Dayne! Bye Mr. Dayne!

The man chuckled and bowed. “Good morning, Prince Aegon.” 

When Aegon joined their driver, Jon turned back to his head of security. “Sorry, Arthur- so you said what about her bodyguard? She’s bringing him?”

“Bringing _her._ But yes, Your Highness. I’ve been in contact with Lord Stark’s head of security and they’ve informed me that Lady Sansa is rarely seen without her bodyguard, so we’ve made accommodations.”

Jon’s eyebrows rose up. “‘Her?’”

Arthur unclasped his hands that were behind his back and, somehow still respectfully, crossed them. “Yes. ‘Her.’ Brienne Tarth is _exceptional_ at what she does. The King and Queen had even considered her for Princess Rhaenys, you know. But right out of Academy, the Starks requested her and she accepted.”

Jon had the decency to look ashamed. “No- er, sorry. That’s not- that’s not what I meant.” Jon’s known him since he was born. Arthur Dayne had this uncanny ability to reprimand Jon without _actually_ reprimanding him. “But yeah, that’s good. Make sure whatever it is that Lady Sansa and Miss Tarth need is given. If there’s trouble, come to me.”

“Very good, Prince Jon.” Arthur bowed his head and walked off.

Jon sighed and headed towards the car. Time to pick out some sweets.

\--

“This one has chocolate swirls, Jon! Can we get it?” 

Jon smiled and the baker gestured to his assistant to box that one up too. 

“Alright, so we have nearly three dozen types of pastries for the party, and one main 5 tiered cake- with enough sheet cake to serve. Does that sound right, Your Highness?”

“Yes, that sounds perfect.” Jon didn’t think he could taste any more desserts, fruity or otherwise. 

“Great, then we’ve gotten every detail completed.” 

Jon gave a satisfied grin at the man’s words. 

“Except for the cake flavour.” 

Jon winced. He’d been avoiding this. Choosing the cake style was easy, but the flavour? It stressed him. The cake was going to be served to everyone as part of the dinner course and he really wanted his guests to like everything in the Red Keep. He wanted his guests to enjoy themselves, to feel at home. This dessert could be the tipping point of if they enjoyed their time in King’s Landing and would want to come back.

“Aegon?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think the cake for the Christmas ball should be?”

“The one with our special guest?”

Jon chuckled. “Yeah, that one.”

“Lemon,” the little Prince said primly.

Jon leaned back thoughtfully. “Lemon?” Jon looked at the baker, who shrugged in agreement.

“Yes, Lady Sansa’s favourite is lemon.” Aegon said with as much confidence as an eight year old could muster. 

Jon furrowed his brow. He remembered her birthday cakes were always lemon, but he assumed it was chosen because his mother always insisted they gift lemons to the Starks; something about Dornish lemons tasting better. Perhaps he was wrong. Maybe Lady Sansa didn’t have her cakes lemon flavoured because they gifted her with them, but it was actually that they gifted her lemons because she liked lemon cakes. Jon suddenly felt disappointed in himself. _I’m marrying this woman and I can’t even remember what her favourite cake is? I need to do better._

\--

“Your Grace?” 

Jon looked up. “Yes, Arthur?”

“We should probably be going soon? Lady Sansa’s flight will land in an hour and Queen Elia insisted we arrive on time, if not early.”

Jon sighed. He knew that, of course. Unfortunately, he had to work out problems with the new initiative he and his father came up with. One of the Districts in King’s Landing, Flea Bottom, has been in an economic crisis for the last few years, and Jon took it upon himself to fix it. His father insisted on overseeing the project as this was one of Jon’s firsts of many as future King. 

But, predictably, his father somehow managed to mishandle the financial aspects this morning and now they’re in shambles. It would have been fine, but as Christmas was just a few days away, they had put a pause on the project and given the staff the rest of the week to spend time with family. And Jon refused to rescind that time off because Connington found a discrepancy. 

“I need to finish this, Arthur. If I don’t, the contractors, who _we_ hired, don’t get paid. We can’t _not_ pay these people when their hard earned money was due this morning. Not right before Christmas.” Jon didn’t want to say what he had to. But Arthur understood.

“I see.” He paused to see if Jon would say anything, when he didn’t, Arthur continued. “Shall I go to the airport now then?”

Jon closed his eyes and nodded.

\--

“Are you still nervous Lady Sansa?”

“It’s just us Jeyne, you can drop the ‘Lady’ bit.” 

Jeyne put down her notebook and smirked at Sansa. 

“Yes, well, we’re landing right now, time to put up airs, Lady Sansa,” she said in a singsong voice. When Sansa didn’t smile, Jeyne’s shoulders slumped. “Seriously, Sansa are you okay?”

Sansa sighed. “What if things aren’t what I expected?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know… what if it doesn’t work out?”

“You mean with Prince Jon?” Sansa nodded and Jeyne was confused. “But you’re engaged to him. I don’t mean anything by it, but people like _you_ don’t usually break off engagements. It’s a pretty big deal.”

“Well that’s the thing isn’t it? We were never _formally_ announced as engaged. My parents gave me a choice, his probably gives him one too. And I haven’t seen Prince Jon in months. What if he changed his mind?”

Jeyne huffed. “Well, I sincerely doubt it my Lady, but if that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. That’s what _I’m_ here for. I’ll help you get to know him, find common ground with him. Lady Sansa, by the time I’m done, you’ll be _wooing_ the Prince.”

This time, Sansa did laugh.

\--

“I don’t see him, do you?”

“No. Brienne, you said they were coming, right?”

The blonde woman nodded. “Yes, my Lady. That is what I was told.”

Before Sansa could say anything, someone called for her.

“Lady Sansa?”

She turned around. “Yes?”

Arthur bowed. “Good afternoon, my Lady. Miss Poole and Miss Tarth, I presume?”

Brienne nodded. “Yes, we’ve been in correspondence.”

“Perfect. Well, your luggage is already on the way to the castle, shall we follow it?”

Sansa nodded before hesitantly asking, “Of course. Was Prince Jon unable to come? I was under the impression that he was going to be here.”

Arthur gave her an apologetic smile. “Yes, my Lady, that was the plan. Unfortunately, he and the King had some unforeseen obligations they had to attend to.”

A look of understanding dawned on her. “Oh, I see. No of course, our duty to our people is always priority.” 

As everyone one climbed into the car, Arthur couldn’t help but think _she’ll be a fine queen someday._

\--

Sansa, too nervous to really keep up conversation, stayed quiet during the drive while Jeyne did most of the talking. It was mostly talks of schedules and events. Jeyne can inform her on them later that night. Sansa spent her time thinking of how she wanted to spend time to get to know Prince Jon better. 

When they got out of the car, she let out a soft gasp. She had forgotten how breathtaking the Red Keep was. The holiday decorations definitely added to the scenery. It was like a fairytale. She could hear birds still chirping from trees somewhere above and from where she was, she saw colly birds flying ahead and could even see geese by the lake. 

“Lady Sansa!”

Sansa turned to see two children running towards her and smiled brightly. She stooped down to greet the little royals.

“Princess Rhaenys! Prince Aegon! Oh, it’s so good to see you again, you’ve both grown so big! As beautiful and dashing as always,” she said to each of them. 

Both children preened under her compliments. When Sansa noticed the rest of the greeting party behind the children, she quickly stood up and made her way. 

“Queen Elia,” she curtsied, “Thank you for having me here. Your home is gorgeous.”

Queen Elia waved her off. “Nonsense, you’re always welcomed here, my dear.” She reached forward and embraced Sansa. “We’re to be family soon, I want you feeling comfortable here.”

Sansa felt relief at the Queen’s warm smile. And before she could stop herself, she asked, “I heard King Rhaegar and Prince Jon had some trouble, I hope everything is okay?”

“Oh yes, everything should be worked out soon enough. But I’m regretful to say it’s possible they won’t be able to join us for dinner. They want to get this done and out of the way as soon as possible.”

“No, of course. The duty to our nation always comes first.”

Queen Elia smiled strangely at Sansa before saying, “Right.” 

“Jon!” The sudden shout from Prince Aegon jolted the two women. 

Sansa immediately turned to where the young prince was frantically waving to and her breath caught. She remembered what he looked like, but seeing him in person reminded her just how handsome Prince Jon was. How kind his eyes were. He reached them in no time.

“Mother,” he greeted the Queen first. When he turned to her, he smiled nervously. “Lady Sansa. I’m glad you made it here safely.”

She returned his smile with one of her own. “Likewise, Prince Jon.” 

In the midst of their greetings, Jon didn’t notice Elia smirking, and Sansa didn’t notice Jeyne and Brienne sharing a knowing look. 

Jon cleared his throat. “I do apologize for not being able to greet you at the airport. There was something of a crisis.” He chuckled.

 _Common ground, Sansa. Find it!_ “No, it’s alright. I understand completely.” When he quirked a brow in response, she clarified. “It seems we’re both creatures of duty.”

\--

Jon frowned at what Lady Sansa said before quickly returning his smile. “Right, we all have our responsibilities.” When she offered nothing more than a smile in agreement, Jon bid his farewell. “Well, I just wanted to see you. Uh- er… in case I would be unavailable for dinner later on. I should really get back to work. If you need anything, anything at all, feel free to come find me. You remember where my office is, yeah?”

Lady Sansa nodded. “I remember.”

“Perfect,” he said softly. He smiled at his mother and siblings and turned to leave. Before he left though, he made the quick decision to turn back one more time to Lady Sansa. “It’s good to see you again, Lady Sansa. You look as lovely as ever.” He thought she blushed very prettily. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehh? ehhh???
> 
> 1- ratgar's not an asshole here, but he's still incompetent. does that make for a bad king? who knows ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> 2- i LOVE how everyone last chapter was like "jon, no! poor sansa!!" 😂😂 it was great LOL


	5. five golden rings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOF this one came a lil late, i spent the day reading everyone else's stories and lost track of time LMAO  
> but hey, you get a longer chapter today?
> 
> anywayz YAY day 5 of 12 days till Christmas!

Dinner was an intimate affair, and it went well. At least, Sansa assumed it did. Princess Arianne was there and that was a wonderful surprise for Sansa. She hadn’t seen the young woman in almost a year and was quite fond of her. As Queen Elia assumed, King Rhaegar and Prince Jon were unable to attend dinner, so Sansa spent her time reacquainting herself with everyone else. 

As it was only the five of them, the table that was used was much smaller than the usual ones she remembered, but Sansa noticed it was just as elegant. The plates and bowls were a pretty porcelain decorated with golden rings on the edges. The wine glasses were a sparkling silver. Even the center pieces were filled with such vibrant colors. If there’s one thing the South had that the North did not, it was definitely their artistic eye in bright colors and fancy décor. Once upon a time, it was all Sansa dreamed of in her future home. Oh, she loved it still, but she couldn’t help but think of the small touches of the North she would love to incorporate once she lives here permanently. To make it her home too.

But still, the intimacy of that night’s dinner was very welcoming in Sansa’s opinion. In the North, every time there was a guest from another noble family, her mother made sure to host a small feast. She wasn’t sure if it was a Southron custom, or just Queen Elia’s doing, but Sansa appreciated the small dinner. It was enjoyable, really, to be in the company of just women -and Prince Aegon- as they had talked about preparations for the Christmas Ball and, after light teasing from Princess Arianne, small talks of weddings. But the day’s travel had taken its toll, and Sansa was ready to retire for the night.

“Jeyne? What are you still doing here?” she said as she walked into their rooms.

The woman in question looked up from her spot on the settee. “What do you mean? I’m waiting for you, of course!”

“You must be tired. You know, you _can_ call it a night,” Sansa shook her head with affection, “So, how was your dinner?”

“Oh it was good, met some old friends from the last time we were here,” she said vaguely. “And I know. I even told Brienne the same, hence her absence.”

Sansa smiled knowingly. “Old friends? You mean-”

_“Anyways,_ shouldn’t we be talking about how _your_ dinner went? And preparing for tomorrow? According to Prince Jon’s secretary, his schedule should be clear through Christmas. What would you like to do?”

Sansa, aware of Jeyne’s deflection, shook her head. “Dinner went really well. I’ll admit, it is a comfort knowing that the Queen and Princess Arianne are at least very supportive of this marriage.”

“Of course they are! I’ve told you, your fears are completely unfounded.”

“Yes, I know, I know,” Sansa sighed, “Anyhow, all talks of schedules can be done later. If you’re feeling half as tired as me, I know you’re just dying to go to sleep. Call it a night, Jeyne.”

“Tell you what, we’ll both wash up, and I’ll come back.” Jeyne got up and headed to the other door across their adjoined living room. Before she entered her room, she looked back to her lady. “I’m glad you had a good time during dinner, but I can tell you’re still nervous. So we’ll plan tomorrow, alright? I know how planning and organizing calms you down.”

Sansa rolled her eyes at Jeyne’s teasing before entering her own room, fully intent on having a hot shower to relax her. 

\--

“Sansa! Hi! Mother, Father! Sansa’s just called!”

Sansa smiled at the screen in front of her. She watched as everyone suddenly started piling into Arya’s room, despite her only calling for their parents. Sansa sent them a text when she landed, but now she can actually talk to everyone and it looks like they wanted to talk to her too.

“Sansa, darling, how are you?”

“How’s King’s Landing, love? Was your flight okay?”

“Where’s Jon? Last I spoke to him, they were in the middle of planning the ball.”

“Is it true the Targaryens have dragons in their dungeons?!”

Sansa laughed at her family and answered all their questions. She laughed again at Rickon’s pout at the lack of dragons.

“Sansa, why’s your hair all wet?” Bran asked.

“Oh, I just showered. And I didn’t want to blow dry my hair, it’s too hot down here for that.”

“Ah, I see,” her mother said, “That explains your attire.” 

Sansa looked down at her nightwear and blushed. She was glad she had packed her summer nightgown as opposed to her winter ones. Even with the windows open, she still felt a little warm.

Catelyn smiled at her daughter. It looks like Sansa had a good first day there, and as long as her daughter was happy, then so was Catelyn. “Well, we should probably let you rest for the night. You’ve had a long day of traveling and I’m sure the rest of your stay will be quite eventful.”

Before Sansa could protest, she heard rustling on the other side of her door. “Yes, and it looks like Jeyne’s here and ready to help plan out tomorrow’s events and tell me what’s on the schedule.”

Her mother nodded. “Good. You listen to Jeyne, she'll help you when you need,” and in a softer tone, she added, “I’m glad to see you’re having a good time, my sweetling.”

“Of course I am, Mother.” Her heart ached. It might not have been even a whole day yet, but she already missed her family. 

When they hung up, she was about to go call Jeyne in, when a knock on the door beat her to it. 

“Come in!” She turned around and closed her laptop.

“Lady Sansa, I- oh!”

Sansa whirled around and instead of greeting her assistant, she was met with a very red faced prince, whose eyes were now burning a whole in the ground. 

“Prince Jon!” 

“I am _so_ sorry, my Lady!” His flush was now covering his neck. “I- er I thought- well, you said it was… Um, I just-”

Sansa couldn’t help but breathe out a laugh at the Prince’s stumbling over his words. She clamped her mouth shut with her hand when his eyes snapped up to her. “Oh, I’m sorry, my Prince. I don’t mean to laugh.” She quickly grabbed her outer robe and put it on. Turning back to see the Prince still very much red and eyes averted back to the ground, Sansa couldn’t help but giggle again. She’s not even sure what was so funny; it was probably her nerves. But apparently her laughter was contagious, because now the Prince looked back to her and the corners of his mouth were twitching. 

With a shake of his head, he spoke first. “Do you normally answer your door in your nightgown?” 

It was Sansa’s turn to blush. “No, I thought you were Jeyne. She planned to come here later so we can discuss our schedules.”

“Right, of course.” Jon nodded and started back tracking out the door he came through. “I’ll uh let you do that then.”

When he closed the door behind him, he left a slightly confused Sansa in the middle of her room. In less than five seconds though, there was another knock on her door.

“Come in?” she questioned, not sure what just happened.

“Hi, me again.” He cleared his throat and waved a quick feeble hand that Sansa found endearing. And Prince Jon’s face looked like it became even more red. “With all that excitement, I seem to have forgotten why I came here in the first place.” 

Sansa laughed softly and gestured to her settee, though the Prince declined. 

“You know, if you keep laughing at me like that, I’ll have to leave again from sheer embarrassment,” he said seriously. 

Sansa widened her eyes, worried she’d offended the Prince. If they weren’t in such close proximity, she wouldn’t have noticed the little twitch of his mouth or the crinkle of his eyes. 

“Ohh,” she huffed a laugh. “Well, I _am_ sorry for that. To be fair, it seems like we were both caught in surprise. I laugh when I’m nervous.”

Prince Jon’s smile turned into a sardonic grin. “And I’m told I ramble when _I’m_ nervous. Ironic really, because I’m also told that normally I’m not very good at talking.”

“Oh, I don't know about that, I think you’re doing quite well.”

\--

Something about the way Lady Sansa looked at him when she said that made Jon feel nervous all over again. Maybe he isn’t a lost cause after all. This time though, instead of his incessant rambling, he stayed silent. Perhaps too long for comfort.

“Um, you said you were here to tell me something…?”

“Right! Right, yes. I just wanted to check in on you. See how you’re faring so far. And your flight here went well? I know my mother sent one of our personal planes for you, it was okay? Not too bumpy?” 

Lady Sansa smiled softly at him and answered all of his questions. _This is good,_ Jon thought. _This is progress. Perhaps she doesn’t think me a fool._ After some more small talk, he realized the time and bid her goodnight. Before he went back out of her bedroom though, he clenched his fist and turned around, an embarrassed smile on his face.

“I’m an idiot, I forgot.”

Lady Sansa’s eyebrows shot up and she tilted her head questioningly.

“Lady Sansa, do you like horses?” he asked tentatively. 

“Oh, um. I mean I can ride them? I don’t know if I’m any good though, my sister has always been the better rider of the two of us.”

“Would you like to?” Jon asked. “Ride, I mean. Horses! Ride horses?” Jon’s sweating now, he’s sure of it. He knows he’s just done something stupid by the amused look in his lady’s eyes. 

“Sure,” she said. “That would be lovely.”

“Good, good.” He nodded, almost as if to himself, then headed towards the door, for the third time that night. “Good night, Lady Sansa. Sleep well, I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast?”

She smiled at him. “Goodnight, Prince Jon. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

\--

The next morning, Sansa found it went as smoothly as she could hope. After going over the schedule again, Jeyne and Brienne left her to dine with the Royal Family- this time the King and Prince were joining them.

“And it’s a good thing Jon was able to do it!” The King was saying, “I don’t see why he had to though, he could’ve just called the staff to come and fix it, or just wait until after Christmas. But you know our Jon, has to make life difficult for himself.” King Rhaegar was chuckling in his morning coffee.

“Father,” Prince Jon sighed, as if they’ve had this conversation a hundred times. “We couldn’t just call the staff back, we gave them the rest of the week off. Some aren’t even in the city anymore. And we couldn’t wait until after Christmas. The point of this initiative is to get money flowing _back_ into the people of Flea Bottom. Some of these people live paycheck to paycheck. We can’t just _not_ pay them.”

When the King looked like he was about to argue, Sansa spoke up, “Well, I think that’s very good of you, Prince Jon. It’s important that your people know that you care about them and that they can count on you to lead them. I believe in a hands on approach too. That’s what makes a good ruler, in my opinion.” When she realized she basically criticized the King, she looked down at her plate, eyes widening. 

Everyone was silent for a moment before someone let out a loud chortle. Sansa looked up to see the King grinning at her.

He raised a glass to Sansa and said, “To Lady Sansa. My dear, you will make a _perfect_ queen for Jon one day.” 

“Hear, hear.” Princess Arianne smirked and drank her cup of tea.

Everyone else also laughed softly, even Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon, though Sansa was sure they probably didn’t understand what just happened. When Sansa chanced a look at Prince Jon, she saw that he was already staring right back at her. There was a look in his eye that she couldn’t figure out. Before she could put any more thought into it though, Arthur suddenly walked into the room.

“My apologies, King Rhaegar, Queen Elia-”

“Arthur, is everything alright?” Queen Elia asked with a concerned look.

Arthur winced. “It depends on your definition of ‘alright,’ Ma’am.” And before he could say anything else, a very ostentatious looking woman walked into the room.

“Oh, bugger.”

Sansa shot her head towards Princess Arianne, surprised that the Princess swore in the presence of the King and Queen, even if it was under her breath.

“Hello everyone! _So_ sorry I’m late.”

Arthur sighed. “May I present to you, Lady Daenerys Stormborn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *laughs evilly*


	6. six geese a laying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone last chapter: dANY?!  
> *cackles*  
> that was EXACTLY the reaction i was hoping for, and you all delivered 😂😂😂
> 
> YAY day 6 of our 12 days till Christmas!!!

After the eventful morning, Princess Arianne requested for a morning stroll with Sansa. Once Sansa found Brienne, the three of them began walking on the castle grounds, with Brienne keeping watch from a respectable distance.

“So, breakfast was certainly an interesting affair, wasn’t it Princess Arianne?”

“Sansa, please, you know you can just call me Arianne. We’re practically family, you and I.”

Sansa smiled. “Alright. So, _Arianne,_ who is she, exactly?”

“Well,” Arianne said thoughtfully, “It’s weirdly complicated.” 

At Sansa’s look of encouragement, the Princess continued speaking as the two women made their way around the gardens. 

“Lady Daenerys fancies herself a Royal. Centuries ago, the Stormborns and Targaryens were thick as thieves. And for some reason, she’s always considered herself close to the Royal Family. Probably because she was basically raised in court life. But I know for sure Aunt Elia is only kind out of politeness. King Rhaegar, on the other hand, has a soft spot for her. Both of them lost their parents at a young age, you see.”

Sansa nodded and slowly processed this information. She knew of the Stormborn and Targaryen alliance and she’s heard of the Lady Daenerys before, but didn’t realize the closeness the two families still had.

“May I ask?” Sansa said with uncertainty. When Arianne nodded, she continued. “Why is Queen Elia only kind out of politeness? And… well, your reaction to seeing her earlier?” At the last question, Arianne laughed.

“Let’s just say Lady Daenerys and I have a… strained relationship,” the princess explained, before rolling her eyes. “At least on my end. I’m sure she doesn’t even realize that I don’t particularly like her. Or the Queen.” When Sansa didn’t say anything, Arianne continued. “She’s just- well to be quite frank, she’s the type of socialite that I’m not fond of. She’s very, how do I put this? Audacious.”

They suddenly heard loud giggling. Turning to the noise, Sansa saw that it was Lady Daenerys, walking very closely with Prince Jon. Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon were playing a little ways behind them. Sansa couldn’t help but notice that the two made quite the picture.

“And Prince Jon?” Sansa said, not taking her eyes off the approaching group. “How does he feel about her?”

Arianne’s snort took Sansa’s attention away from the group. _“Please_ don’t tell me you’re worried about her. My disdain for the woman isn’t half as much as Jon’s. Here, look-” she discreetly gestured to the Prince, “-you can practically see the vein on his neck about to pop.” 

Sansa covered her laughter at Arianne’s words, because, indeed, Prince Jon looked immensely uncomfortable. Unfortunately, attempting to stop and seeing the amused expression on Arianne’s face only made her laughter harder, which then made Arianne laugh as well. 

“Hello there, you two. What’s so funny?” Prince Jon asked, a soft smile on his face as his eyes were on Sansa. 

“Ah, nothing,” Arianne said with a wave, “You know us, just silly inside jokes.”

“Oh, it’s so _good_ to see you, Arianne!” Lady Daenerys squealed. She suddenly left Jon’s side and faced her back to Arianne. She pulled out her phone and angled it to her and Arianne’s face. “Selfie time! Smile!”

“I’d _really_ rather not.”

“Aw, come on! Pics or it didn’t happen!” Lady Daenerys made what Sansa could only assume was supposed to be an alluring smile. Arianne’s however looked more like a grimace. After taking the photo, she looked at her phone and frowned, “Oh. This lighting is atrocious. We’ll take another later!” When she looked up, she did a double take at Sansa, as if she just noticed her standing there. “And who might you be?”

Sansa blinked. Before she could say anything though, Prince Jon spoke up. And he sounded rather annoyed. 

“You _know_ who this is, Lady Daenerys. This is my fiancée, Lady Sansa.”

“Oh, right. _Fiancée.”_ The way she said that word made Sansa feel uncomfortable. She turned back and said, “Sorry, I didn’t know what Jon’s _fiancée_ looked like.” She sounded anything but sorry. “So, you’re here for the holidays too then?”

“Obviously, she is,” Arianne rolled her eyes. “As I’m sure that’s why you’re here too. But I have to ask, why? Thought you were spending the holidays in Pentos?”

“Oh I was going to, but when I heard you were throwing a big ole’ party, I just had to show up!”

“But we have a Christmas ball every year,” Princess Rhaenys pointed out. 

Lady Daenerys let out a condescending laugh. “Of _course_ you do, Rhae. I just heard this one was going to be a lot bigger than before and I wanted to spend it with you all!”

“It’s _Princess Rhaenys_ to you,” the young girl said petulantly. 

Apparently, hearing the Princess’ tone of voice triggered something in Sansa, probably from the years of covering up her younger siblings’ lack of courtesy, and she found herself gently steering the conversation away from Princess Rhaenys. 

“Well, that’s nice of you, Lady Daenerys. Spending the holidays with loved ones is always lovely.” 

“You know, I’m impressed with you, Lady Sansa.”

Sansa looked taken aback. “Impressed, Lady Daenerys?”

“Well, you’re just so courteous! I don’t know how _I_ would act if _my_ parents forced me into an arranged marriage.”

Unable to think of a better response, Sansa automatically went with what she always says, “I try to do what’s asked of me. Well, I mean- that is to say- no one _forced_ me to do anything. But my parents always provided me with everything and when possible, I like pleasing them.”

“Wow,” Lady Daenerys chuckled, “Sounds like a lot of work. It’s a good thing mine are dead, right?” 

Arianne huffed in disbelief and Sansa’s jaw dropped.

“Lady Daenerys!” Prince Jon admonished.

She only laughed derisively at them. “Oh it was a _joke,_ it’s fine. If I can’t joke about my tragedies, then what can I do?”

Sansa suddenly felt compassion for the woman. Perhaps she acts that way because she had no proper structure in her youth. But then Lady Daenerys took Jon’s arm and batted her lashes. 

“I’m bored. Come walk with me, Jon?” 

Sansa took back her pity. She’ll excuse the overly outgoing behaviour, but she won’t excuse blatantly flirting with her- with an engaged man. A Prince at that.

“Oh, come with me instead, Lady Daenerys,” Arianne quickly grabbed the other woman’s arm. “I seem to recall you wanting to take some more photos?”

Lady Daenerys gushed with delight. “Oh, of course! Two of the prettiest girls here, we should capture the moment! And you can tell me all about what’s going on in Dorne lately. And I’ve _told_ you, just call me Dany!”

Arianne gave her a pained smile. “Haha… no.” She turned her head and gave Sansa a look that said _you’re welcome._ “Rhae, Aegon! Let’s go hang out by the lake!” 

\--

Jon suddenly found himself alone with Lady Sansa, Miss Tarth hanging back to give them privacy. Jon was glad to be with Lady Sansa though, if Daenerys spoke another word to him, he’s sure to pull his hair out. 

“So,” Lady Sansa began, “Still care for that walk, Prince Jon?”

He smiled at her. “I would be honored.” Jon proffered an arm to her and she slipped a hand around it. 

“I feel like I must apologize, Lady Sansa.”

“What for?”

“With all of the… excitement this morning, I was unable to go to the stables and have the horses readied. I hope I didn’t disappoint.”

Lady Sansa shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think you could ever disappoint, Prince Jon.” 

And before Jon could stop himself, he said to her, “Lady Sansa. I have to say that I insist on you dropping the title.” When her confused gaze met his, Jon thought she was the sweetest thing to look upon. “If we’re to be married soon, I think just ‘Jon’ would suffice, don’t you?”

She looked away from him then, but he could see a faint smile on her lips. When she turned back to him though, she had a determined look in her eye. “Alright then, ‘Just Jon,’ if that’s the case, then I also insist you call me just ‘Sansa.’ No titles.”

Jon chuckled then. “Alright, fine. We’ll be ‘Just Jon’ and ‘Just Sansa’ then.”

“I think I like the sound of that.”

With another shared smile, they continued their stroll around the lake in a comfortable silence. They watched as Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon fed the ducks in the lake, under supervision from Arthur. They laughed as Princess Arianne forced smile after smile for Lady Daenerys’ many selfies. 

Jon couldn’t help but think about their future. If this is what a marriage with Sansa would be like, quiet morning strolls as they watched little princes and princesses play by the lake, then he couldn’t wait. Just being with Sansa now made Jon realize that perhaps their union, though made from their parents’ suggestion, was something he did, in fact, want very much.

But there was still one thing at the back of his mind that he just couldn’t shake: what Sansa had said earlier to Daenerys about doing what her parents asked of her. And her offhand comments about always doing her duty. He needed to be sure that Sansa wanted this marriage as much as he did. That she wasn’t marrying him out of some misguided obligation to their parents. Unfortunately, before he could ask her, she grabbed his arm with her other hand before pointing towards his siblings.

“Jon, look!”

He looked to where she pointed and he noticed the trail of little ducklings. 

“Oh my gods, they’re so cute,” Sansa gasped. It was as if she'd never seen ducklings before. She turned her head up to him. “Let’s go see what the Princess and Prince are up to?”

Jon, unable to help himself, started chuckling, “Sure. And I didn’t know you were so interested in ducklings.”

“I’m not!” Sansa laughed, a sound he wishes to hear more of. “But I just have a soft spot for small, cute things.” She then made a gesture with her hands as if she were holding a small, cute thing. 

“Right,” he smiled at her. “Also, just so you know, you can drop the titles with my siblings as well. I’m pretty sure they just refer to you as Sansa now.”

Before Sansa could protest, Rhaenys waved them over.

“Jon, Sansa, look!”

Jon smirked at Sansa in a very _I told you so_ way. 

Rhaenys was currently throwing bird food at the nearby ducks with Aegon. And it looked like they were trying to get closer to the ducklings as well.

“Jon.” Sansa was lightly patting on his arm now. “Should we be concerned if they get too close to the babies? The mother duck might not take too kindly to that.”

“No worries, the caretaker here has surprisingly trained the ducks well enough. They aren't as hostile as _those_ birds.” He pointed to a flock of birds a little ways over.

“Sansa, come feed the ducks with me!” Aegon came over and tugged on Sansa’s hand, dragging her over to Arthur. “Arthur! Can Sansa have some duck food too?”

“Most certainly, Prince Aegon.” Arthur poured a small handful in his hand before offering it to Sansa. “My Lady?”

Sansa accepted it with a small laugh. “Thank you very much Arthur.” When her hand was full, she crouched down to be eye level with Aegon and then they were both giggling as they fed the ducks. Rhaenys, not one to be left out, joined them. 

“Everything good, Prince Jon?” Arthur quirked a brow at him, but Jon didn’t notice, eyes still on Sansa. 

“Yes. Quite well. Arthur?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Lady Sansa… she’s good with children, is she not?”

“Yes, Sir. It looks like it.” 

Since Jon was busy watching Sansa with his siblings, he didn’t notice that Arianne and Lady Daenerys had finally stopped with the photos, due to the latter’s sudden interest in watching Jon watch Sansa. He also didn’t hear their conversation.

\--

“What’s Jon looking at?”

Arianne snorted. _“Looks_ like he’s looking at his pretty fiancée feeding ducklings with his siblings.”

“What’s the deal with that anyways? Why’s she here this year?”

“What do you mean, Daenerys? She’s here because she wants to spend the holidays with her future husband and his family. In her future home.”

“So that’s definitely still happening then?” The blonde woman asked skeptically.

 _“Yes._ Besides, the King’s been waiting for this union for years, anything else is impossible.”

Daenerys shot a smirk to Arianne. “Nothing’s impossible for Daenerys Stormborn.” And with that, she strode off toward the small group. Arianne shook her head. Whatever it was that woman was planning, it couldn’t be good.

“You. Give me that.” Before waiting for a response, Daenerys grabbed the bag of duck food from Arthur and poured some in her hands and shoved the bag back to him. She then marched over to where she saw another group of small ducks and crouched down to them.

“Oh, Jon! Come look! There are little baby ducks here too!” 

Arianne doesn’t know much about birds, but she knows enough to notice the difference between the babies near Sansa and the ones near Daenerys. She also noticed that Daenerys is alarming close to a nest of eggs. And she isn’t the only one.

“Uh…” Jon squints over to where he sees Daenerys.

“Jon,” Sansa is by his side now, looking very worried at where Daenerys is currently trying to pick up a baby bird. “Isn’t that the flock you said were hostile?”

“Aw, look! There’s even a little nest here! There’s nearly six eggs!”

Before Jon had time to react, a very large, very territorial looking goose jumped out from behind a bush. Daenerys hadn’t found ducklings. They were goslings. And a series of comical events followed. The mother goose started honking angrily at Daenerys. Daenerys screamed in shock and scrambled away, which led her to tripping over some tree roots. In an attempt to balance herself again, she overestimated and launched herself backwards into the lake. 

“Oh goodness! We should help her!” Sansa exclaimed. 

“No, no, not yet.” Arianne had her phone out and was currently recording. When she looked over, she saw a shocked Sansa, an amused Jon, and two very giggly little royals. Arianne shrugged. “The lake’s barely a foot at the edge, she’s fine. Besides. _Pics or it didn’t happen.”_

Arthur and Brienne stifled a laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone here watched The Princess Switch: Switched Again? Fiona may have inspired a certain blonde socialite 😂
> 
> also i'm a firm believer that in modern au's, dany just wants to be Cool™ like Arianne, but Arianne is always like "new phone who dis?"


	7. seven swans a swimming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHH we're getting closer to the end! and what does that mean in terms of hallmark holiday movies? DRAMA
> 
> DAY 7 OF 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS💕💕

Jon sighed. “Why am I here again? I thought everything was settled already?” He was in his father’s office for _another_ meeting with Rhaegar and Lord Connington when really, he wished he was with Sansa. He had hoped to spend more time with her today. After yesterday’s fiasco, everyone decided it would be best if they just stayed indoors. So he and Sansa spent a good part of the day playing games with Rhaenys and Aegon. But still. Sansa leaves after Christmas and Jon has yet to pluck up the courage to ask her to visit again, or if he could visit her in Winterfell. He’d much rather they not wait months again before seeing each other. Alas, duty calls. _Duty._ Jon’s really starting to hate that word.

“Because, Prince Jon, we have to follow up on the accounts, make sure our work the other day was successful,” Lord Connington said.

His father shook his head. “We wouldn’t have to do this if you had just waited until after Christmas like I wanted, Jon.”

Jon shot a look at Rhaegar when the man was turned around. As Lord Connington went on and on, Jon found himself pacing away from the desk and to the large window. He knew everything would be fine with the accounts, he’s very thorough with his work. 

Looking down, he saw that Sansa was outside with the rest of his family. It looks like they had set up a picnic of sorts. Sansa was currently doing Rhaenys’ hair and Jon couldn’t help but enjoy the sight. Something about Sansa getting along so well with his family and watching her being gentle with his little sister made his heart clench. And the thought of family reminded him of the gift that was currently sitting in his breast pocket.

He couldn’t wait to see her for dinner. 

\--

“I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself, Sansa,” Queen Elia was saying, “I know Christmas here is a bit different than in the North.”

Sansa smiled over Rhaenys’ head. “Yes, it’s lovely here. But you’re right, it _is_ different. I think the most jarring thing for me though is the complete lack of snow. I’m used to having a white Christmas and everything here is so _green._ Goodbye harsh colds and hello outdoor picnics!” After some light chuckling, she continued. “Maybe Jon and I will be able to spend the holidays in Winterfell next year.”

Queen Elia’s smile faltered at Sansa’s wistful tone. “Perhaps. But I won’t lie to you Sansa. You’ll be married next year and it’s most likely that the King and our Council will insist on the first Christmas as Crown Prince and Princess of the Realm be spent in King’s Landing.”

“Oh. No, of course! You’re right.” Sansa knew she wasn’t doing a very good job at putting on a happy face. Queen Elia knew it too.

“Don’t worry, my dear,” the Queen said gently, “It’s not as if you’ll never spend the holidays with your family again. We’ve spent many Christmases at Dorne throughout the years, the King enjoys it there. Besides, Jon will make sure you’ll be able to go to Winterfell as much as you desire.”

At the mention of Jon, Sansa couldn’t help but smile. Yes, Jon has been quite attentive, something she hadn’t really been able to see over the years. Maybe without her siblings here, there was no more distraction and divided attention for the both of them.

Queen Elia noticed the smile and couldn’t help herself. “He’s been good to you, right? I know things have been a bit off schedule the last few days, but I’m sure Miss Poole and Satin have worked out something so Jon’s not always busy.”

“Oh yes, Jon’s been very kind,” Sansa breathed a soft laugh, thinking about yesterday’s events. “And Jeyne has been such a wonder. I’m glad she was able to come with me.”

“Mmm, she’s a hard worker, your assistant. You said she helped you with your charity work earlier this month?”

“Yes! I’m really glad I have someone who can keep up with me. I’ve been told I can be a little bit relentless when it comes to these kinds of things,” Sansa smiled as she fondly spoke of Jeyne, “But really, she’s more than just an assistant. Jeyne’s probably my best friend.”

“Oh, well that’s good! It must be nice having your best friend with you at all times. How did you two meet again…?”

“We went to the same University,” Sansa answered, “And when we graduated, I enlisted Jeyne’s help for a few projects, then she just sort of stayed on.” Before Sansa could say anything else, Aegon plopped down. 

“Can Rhaenys come play now?”

“Just one more tie,” Sansa replied. “There, Rhaenys, all done!”

Rhaenys stood up from Sansa and twirled around. “Oh, I love it! Look, Mummy! Aren’t these braids pretty!”

“Absolutely gorgeous, sweetling,” Queen Elia complimented her daughter, “You look like a true Northern girl.” 

Rhaenys’ eyes lit up and the smile that followed made Sansa’s heart ache. Thoughts of having a little Northern girl of her own flit through her mind. 

“Hi! What are we doing here?”

The small group looked up to see a smiling Lady Daenerys.

“Lady Daenerys, look! Sansa braided my hair, isn’t it so pretty?”

The lady in question tightened her smile. _“So_ pretty. Lady Sansa is a woman of many talents, I see.”

“Oh, er, thank you, Lady Daenerys,” Sansa replied awkwardly. She’s still not sure if Lady Daenerys was still upset over yesterday’s mishap. It’s a good thing Arianne only shared the recording with Sansa. 

“Queen Elia, might I borrow Lady Sansa for a moment?”

The Queen’s eyebrows rose. Sansa hoped the Queen would say no, but she knew that was wishful thinking. “Certainly, Daenerys. I’ll see you later, Sansa?”

Sansa nodded to Queen Elia with a smile. “Yes. If you’ll excuse me.” She stood up and immediately, Lady Daenerys latched onto her arm.

They walked for a few minutes in silence and Sansa was getting increasingly uncomfortable.

“I must confess,” Lady Daenerys broke the silence first. “I actually changed my holiday plans when I heard news that you were going to be attending this year’s Christmas Ball, Lady Sansa.” 

She didn’t know what to say to that, so she said nothing.

“You see, I’ve always been curious about what Jon’s fiancée was like.” After a glance at Sansa, she continued. “And you’re just as I imagined.”

Before Sansa could ask her what she meant by that, Lady Daenerys changed subjects. “So, how are you liking King’s Landing?”

“Oh, it’s good- lovely, really,” Sansa hesitantly replied.

“But you must miss your home? Winterfell’s a lot different from here. I mean, I wouldn’t know, I’ve lived in King’s Landing all my life. Just like Jon. You know, I’m not sure he’ll like going to Winterfell often. He’s a Southron man after all.”

At the mention of Jon, Sansa narrowed her eyes. “Well, it’s not as if Jon hasn’t been to the North before. He used to visit quite frequently, actually.”

“Oh right.” Lady Daenerys gave what Sansa thought was a very fake smile. “You know, Sansa -can I call you Sansa? I’ll call you Sansa. Well, we’re very much alike, you and I. It’s just that I forgot, we _both_ have known Jon since we were children. It’s probably because he hardly mentioned you while we were growing up that I was curious.”

Sansa felt like a flame had ignited in her. “That’s funny you say that, as I find it hard to believe.”

The blonde woman raised a brow. “Oh?”

“Yes, seeing as Jon and I have been engaged since we were children-”

“Ah, yes. _Childhood betrothals._ Personally, I think those are rather pesky little things, don’t you?” She didn’t wait for Sansa to answer. “Besides, we live in modern times now. Who even makes betrothals anymore? Especially when the two people hardly know each other.”

“I wouldn’t say we hardly know each other,” Sansa countered, despite recalling her mother’s words before she left for King’s Landing. _Don’t you think you two should get to know each other?_ But she won’t have Lady Daenerys thinking otherwise. “Anyhow, I see Jon a few times every year and yet there’s _never_ been a mention of you.”

Sansa thought her remark would finally get Lady Daenerys to stop whatever it was that she was doing, but the woman just kept walking, looking so sure of herself.

“Oh, I’m not surprised.”

And when they stopped walking, Lady Daenerys turned to face Sansa. The smug look on her face filled Sansa with dread. “I wouldn’t expect Jon to tell his fiancée about his first kiss with another woman, after all.” 

Sansa had no response to that.

Lady Daenerys pulled out her phone just then. “Oh! Well, if you’ll excuse me, Sansa. I’m going to meet up with some of my friends in town. Ta-ta!”

As Sansa watched her walk away, she couldn’t help but feel like whatever had just happened, she lost. 

\--

It was dark now, but Sansa couldn’t bring herself to move. After her conversation with Daenerys, Sansa continued the walk on her own. She wanted complete solitude, so she insisted Brienne retire for the day. She’s certain her personal guard is filled with worry right now. Sansa’s sure she missed dinner.

She had somehow ended up on the far side of the lake, and now she was currently sitting on a large rock, watching a bevy of swans bathing in the lake under the moonlight. She couldn’t help but feel envious of them. They did what they wanted, when they wanted. Not a care in the world.

“There she is!”

“Told you I could find her.”

Sansa looked over and saw Jeyne walking towards her. Jeyne and, unsurprisingly to Sansa, Podrick Payne. 

“Yeah yeah yeah. You know the ins and outs of the Red Keep, _thank you_ Pod.” Despite her tone, Jeyne looked at Podrick affectionately before turning her attention to her friend.

“Sansa? You realize you can’t just shoot me a text saying ‘Not feeling up to dinner, cover for me?’ and then not respond to anything else, right? You had me so worried! Seven hells!”

Ignoring her friend’s lecture, Sansa chose to chuckle at Podrick’s expression instead. Clearly he’s never seen someone yell at a Lady like that before.

“Jeyne!” he whispered frantically to her. 

“Hi Podrick,” Sansa drawled, “Fancy seeing you here. Aren’t you supposed to be securing the castle or something?” She couldn’t help but smile at the young man’s blush. 

“Er, yes, my Lady. Jeyne was just very worried you see. And uh- she hadn’t seen you all day and- so, she asked me to help find you.” 

Sansa leaned forward and rested her chin on her knuckles. She couldn’t help but find Podrick’s stammering adorable. She understands what Jeyne sees in him. 

“Sansa,” Jeyne sighed, “What happened?” When Sansa’s smile dropped, Jeyne turned to Podrick and asked, “Pod, do you mind giving us some space?”

It looked like he was debating with himself before he relented. “Sure. But I’ll be right over there, okay? The grounds are safe, but I’d feel better escorting you two back inside after. It’s dark now.”

When Podrick left, Jeyne turned back to Sansa and raised her arms questioningly.

“Jeyne, what do I _really_ know about Jon?”

That wasn’t what she was expecting Sansa to say. “What?”

“It’s just- look, the past few days with him have been wonderful, but I still feel like I don’t know him. What he likes, his favourite color. His first kiss, his favourite food. How are we supposed to marry when I don’t even know if he _likes_ me?”

“Whoa, Sansa. Where is this coming from? From our last conversation, I thought things were going really well? I mean, the man agreed to play knights and dragons with you, I think he’s pretty smitten.”

Sansa smiled at the memory. “We were playing with his siblings-”

Jeyne scoffed. “Oh, right. Sure. And carrying you off the ‘high tower’ and looking at you like _that,_ it was all part of a game?”

“He didn’t look at me like _anything,”_ Sansa protested. 

“Oh, that’s a load of shit and you know it.”

“Jeyne!” Hearing her friend swear like that got Sansa to laugh, if just a little.

“I’m serious! Sansa, you don’t see it, but the Prince is head over heels for you.” At Sansa’s doubtful look, Jeyne continued. “You didn’t see him earlier. He was so concerned when you didn’t show up for dinner. He even insisted on bringing you soup to help with your headache -you had a headache in case anyone asks, by the way- and when I told him no, you were still resting, he looked so damn dejected.”

“Really?”

“Oh my gods, Sansa.” Jeyne shook her head. “If you’re so concerned, then I think you _really_ need to talk to him.”

Sansa nodded her head. “Okay.”

“Good. Now come on, let’s go back inside. Maybe we’ll sneak to the kitchens and get you something to eat?”

“Sure,” Sansa said. Then she grinned at her companion. “And you can tell me all about your many little rendezvous with a Mr. Podrick Payne.” 

“Sansa!”

\--

“Oh my gods, Prince Jon, stop. You’re going to burn a hole in your floor if you keep pacing like that.”

Jon glared at Satin for the millionth time that night.

“Look, I’m sure she’s just tired or something. Jeyne said Lady Sansa just needs rest,” his secretary said. 

“I know, but I can’t help but think there’s something more to it. Arthur said he saw Sansa walking around the grounds today. He said she had an air of, I don’t know, melancholy? around her? And Mother said the last time she saw her was when Lady Daenerys had spoken with her. And that can't be good.”

“Where _is_ the Lady Daenerys?”

“Not in the castle right now, last I heard.” Jon groaned. He sat back down by his desk and rubbed his eyes. “Maybe I should try again? See if Sansa’s woken up? She missed dinner, she must be hungry, right?”

Satin shook his head. “My _gods,_ you are sad.”

A muffled sound of protest came from Jon.

“Just leave it for the night, talk to her tomorrow morning. Jeyne said she’s tired. Maybe it’s delayed jet lag or something?”

“Right, right.” 

Satin watched Jon pityingly until Jon whipped his head up.

“Wait, what in the bleeding hells is _delayed jet lag?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY LMAO  
> but hey, when deciding where to end chapters, i really was gon end it at  
>  _"I wouldn’t expect Jon to tell his fiancee about his first kiss with another woman, after all.”_
> 
> sooooooooo, aren't you glad i didn't???😂😂


	8. eight maids a-milking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: *specifically writes short chapters because i HATE editing with a passion*  
> also me: *writes THIS in day*
> 
> omg, everyone's comments last chapter made my day, THANKS FOR BEING SO INVESTED<3
> 
> we on day 8 of 12 days till Christmas now babeyy!!

Sansa’s not sure why she thought it was a good idea to get up in the middle of the night and leave her rooms. But here she was, in shorts and a sweater, mixing cookie dough in the kitchens. Sure, she and Jeyne talked a bit more during their little dinner, but Sansa still couldn’t sleep. So she did what she and her mother always did before Christmas: bake cookies. There was already a batch in the oven, a batch cooling on the baking rack, and she was working on the third. Sansa might be a stress baker. 

She didn't want to think about today's events, so she occupied her mind with recipes. How much water she needs, the lack of milk in the refrigerator _-and they have two fridges goddammit, where is the milk?!-_ , how much flour should go in, a certain dark haired prince, the right temperature of butter, brown sugar versus white. That sort of thing. She was so preoccupied she didn’t hear the door to the kitchen open.

\--

Jon didn’t care what Satin said, he couldn’t sleep. He could toss and turn and lie back and stare at the ceiling, but sleep evaded him. He might not know Sansa as well as he wants to right now, but he knows her well enough to know that something’s wrong.

He remembered his thirteenth nameday, when the Starks had come down to visit. Sansa had gotten a cold and hadn’t been feeling well at all, but she still insisted on being present during the party; and if she was having a miserable time (which he’s sure she did) it didn’t show. He remembered her sixteenth nameday, when his family had travelled up to visit her. And he remembered the pact that they made that night. And how, despite that, she still acted the proper Lady who was engaged to the Prince and showed up to all the functions for the next few years. 

So Jon knew this was different somehow. Sansa Stark, if anything, knows how to put on her Lady’s face and act the part. It was truly one of the things he admired about her. Sansa was always proper and courteous whereas Jon was… not. 

He groaned and threw his bedsheets off his body. No, he can’t sleep right now. Jon got up and put on his robe, intent on making himself a cup of hot chocolate. When he was younger, his mother, Lyanna, would make him a cup whenever he wasn’t feeling well. She said chocolate makes a person happy. And when she died, he didn’t think he’d ever be happy again. He once asked his father if he wanted to make some with him, but Rhaegar had declined. Said he didn’t want to indulge in whatever _this_ is. And then a few years later, Elia came into his life. Jon was uncertain at first, afraid that with a new wife and possibly new children, his father would forget about him even more. But then one night, Elia found him sitting alone in the kitchens and made him hot chocolate. She said it always made her feel better. It was the first one he’d had since his mother’s death. She held him as he cried that night. 

The closer Jon got to the kitchens, the stronger the smell of baked cookies got. That was confusing, he’s pretty sure the cooks don’t start work until at least 5AM, and that’s already pushing it early. And also, they wouldn’t be baking cookies. When Jon pushed open the door, he felt a wave of elation wash over him. Standing right there in the kitchen, hair up and flour smeared on her forehead, was a giggling Sansa.

\--

“Sansa?”

She whipped her head up at the sound of her name and made eye contact with the last person she was expecting. 

“Aegon? What are you doing up?”

The little boy rubbed his eyes and smiled sheepishly. “I couldn't sleep.”

Sansa laughed. “You and me both, kid.” She put the spatula down and dusted off her hands before gesturing to the boy. “Come here, sweetling!” When he walked around the island over to her, she lifted him up and placed him on the counter. “Ooof! Goodness, clearly you're way too big for this.”

“Of course I am, I'm eight!” he said very matter-of-factly. And then in a smaller voice, “Well. I like sitting up here anyways, I'm still too short to see everything.”

Sansa laughed. “Lucky me, I never had that problem. Here, maybe a snack will help you sleep. Do you like cinnamon sugar cookies?” Aegon gave her an excited nod and some grabby hands. 

“Oh, these are so tasty!” He said in between bites. “Where did you learn to bake, Sansa?”

“My mother taught me,” Sansa replied. As she continued to mix the batter, Aegon rested his hands on the counter to hover over the mixing bowl.

“Ah! My hair’s gotten loose. Sweetling, can you please tuck it behind my ear?” Sansa asked, then leaned closer to Aegon.

He realized too late that there was flour on the counter where his hands were. 

“Oh no…” Aegon giggled. “I got flour all over your head!”

Before she could do anything other than gasp in an exaggerated manner, they were interrupted by the ding of the oven. 

“I’ll look for a towel while you get the cookies?” He hopped off the counter and gave her a cheeky grin.

Sansa sent him a playful glare as he walked off into the back pantry to search for a clean towel. After she took the cookies out of the oven and placed them on a cooling rack, she lined up the baking sheet for the next batch. As Sansa rolled out the dough, she couldn’t help but think of how much Aegon reminded her of Rickon. Both silly little boys. The reminder of her youngest brother and his shenanigans brought another laugh out of her. 

“Aegon,” she shouted over her shoulder, “Did you find a towel yet?” When a towel was placed in her line of sight, she smiled. “Thank you very much, my sweet. The new batches of cookies are out, do you want one while they’re still warm? I can feed it to you if it’s too hot for you to hold.”

“Is that a promise?” Came a voice that was _far_ too deep to be Aegon’s.

“Jon!”

He grinned at her. “Hello, Sansa. Glad to see your headache is better.”

Sansa flushed. “Yes, er- about that-”

“Sansa! I found a- Jon!” The boy rushed over to his big brother and smiled. “What are you doing here?”

Jon lifted up an eyebrow at him. “Me? What about you? I’m certain it’s _way_ past your bedtime.”

“I couldn’t sleep, and Sansa said I could have a snack!”

Jon turned to Sansa and smirked. “Did she now?” And before she could reply, Aegon interrupted her.

“Don’t tell Mummy!” he pleaded. Jon and Sansa both hid their laughter.

“I’ll go to bed right now!” the prince promised as he ran out the kitchen. Half a second later, he ran back in, grabbed a cookie and said, “Just one more for the night, I swear!” And ran back out.

Sansa couldn’t hold in her laughter anymore. “You’re terrible!” she said to Jon. “The poor thing just wanted some cookies. He said he couldn’t sleep!”

Jon tsked at her. “Rookie mistake. It’s two days till Christmas and he was probably heading to the family room to shake down his presents. The smell of cookies was just a deterrent.”

It was Sansa’s turn to scoff. _“Novice_ mistake. We _lock_ our doors to keep Rickon out.” 

Jon chuckled. After a moment of silence, she turned her attention back to the cookie dough. And when he didn’t say anything, she asked, “So, did you want a cookie?”

He didn’t know what possessed him to say this, but it was too late to take it back. “Only if you feed it to me.”

Sansa’s eyes snapped to him. “Are you serious?”

He grinned. _That’s not a no._ “Dead serious.”

\--

He was challenging her, she knows it. But Sansa isn’t one to back down from a challenge. So she took another look at him and turned around and grabbed a cookie. When she turned back to Jon, she was startled that he moved closer to her. She cleared her throat and held the treat right by his lips. Jon’s eyebrows rose, as if surprised she was actually going to feed him. When Sansa looked down at the cookie and back to his eyes expectantly, he smiled and opened his mouth.

Halfway through feeding him the cookie, Sansa had a sudden thought. She shoved the rest in his mouth with a quick motion. When his eyes bugged out and he started coughing, she couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

“Oh, sorry. You’d think after years of baking cookies, I’d learn to remember that they can be too hot right out of the oven.” She blinked up at him innocently.

He looked at her and shook his head in amusement before walking behind her. He opened up what looked like a cabinet and pulled out-

“Is that milk?” Sansa walked over to where he was standing and looked over his shoulder. Inside were jugs of milk, and various cheeses. Apparently, what had looked like a regular pantry was just- “You have _three_ refrigerators in your kitchen?” 

Jon closed the wooden door panel of the hidden fridge and shrugged feebly. “Do you… not?”

Sansa rolled her eyes. “No, we don’t. We have _one_ large fridge that holds most things that have a long expiration date. But everything else? We like ordering our groceries fresh almost everyday. It helps keep the local farmers in better business.”

Jon stopped what he was doing and looked at her. “Really?”

She hesitated before answering. “Yes? The farms get to sell more of their produce to the stores, the stores get to have more business, and the delivery workers get paid more for their services to us. And, of course, my family and our staff get to eat. Everything else gets donated to the local churches.”

“That’s… well, that’s rather ingenious.”

Sansa chuckled. “No, it’s not. It’s basic economics really. We have money and the local businesses want it. It’s a small thing, but it helps to keep our city afloat. We have a rotation and order from all different stores and farms.”

Jon shook his head as he was pouring the milk in a saucepan. “Basic economics and I didn’t even think about that.” When Sansa gave him a questioning look, he explained the troubles going on in Flea Bottom and how he wanted to fix it. As he was telling her, they both continued working. Sansa put the rest of the cookies in the oven and Jon was making hot chocolate for the two of them. 

“Well, that’s not a bad idea.” Sansa was now sitting on the counter by the stove, watching Jon finish up the hot chocolate. “Improving the infrastructure is a good thing for the city. And it gives more jobs to people.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Jon poured the hot chocolate into two cups and gave one to Sansa. “It’s just quite stressful when you have to convince the King and Council. It’s like they don’t care about their subjects on the poor side of town.”

Sansa took a small sip of the drink before saying, “Well, it’s a good thing they have a prince who cares.”

Jon stared at her with the same look he gave her during breakfast the other day. A look that she couldn’t figure out.

\--

Jon and Sansa continued to sip their drinks in silence before he spoke up again, “So, you’re feeling better from your headache earlier?”

“Oh, um. Yeah, I am,” she said rather evasively. 

Jon waited for her to say something else. He didn’t want to push her if there was something more. He was right to wait.

“Jon, what’s your favourite color?”

That’s not what he expected her to say. But that’s okay, she kept going.

“Mine is blue. Like a soft, grey-blue. It reminds me of the skies when I used to sit outside under the weirwood tree that was on the grounds of Winterfell. My favourite flowers are lilacs, because they smell nice. Everyone assumes it’s the winter rose, but it’s lilacs.”

A faint memory crosses his mind then. Of a younger him shoving lilacs in twelve-year-old Sansa’s hands and running away. 

“During Christmastime, my mother and I used to bake cookies for everyone. She taught me how when I was ten. My father actually insisted that all of us learn a skill from the household staff. He said everyone who worked on the estate was vital and that we’d do well to learn the importance of even the smallest of jobs. My mother agreed. Robb, as you know, chose security. I’m pretty sure he just wanted to find any loopholes or blind spots,” Sansa chuckled. “Bran eventually chose the same thing. He just wanted to go in the surveillance room. And Arya chose landscaping. She likes getting her hands dirty and being outside. And I chose cooking. I wanted to learn how to make meals because I liked the idea of feeding my family. My mother noticed I had a pretty good knack at it and showed me how to bake a few things. She taught me what each ingredient did so I would be able to bake even without a recipe. And it’s important to me because I want to do that someday too.” She looked back to Jon and he tilted his head, not understanding. “I want to occasionally make meals for my family. In the future, I want to bake with my children.”

Jon gave her a soft smile. “That sounds like a lovely future.”

Sansa returned his smile. 

Jon gestured to his drink. “When I was younger, my mother -the late Queen Lyanna- would make hot chocolate whenever I couldn’t sleep, or if I was sad. We’d sometimes even sneak into the kitchens late at night just to have some. When she died, I stopped drinking it. My father didn’t want to continue the tradition, and I didn’t like the idea of having it on my own.” Jon looked up when Sansa held his hand. She smiled and gave him a squeeze before he continued. “A few years later, on the anniversary of her death, I found myself in the kitchens again. I wanted hot chocolate but I couldn’t bring myself to make it. Then Elia came in. She looked at me, and then just started heating up milk and breaking up chocolate bits, as if she knew. That night was the first time I called her Mum.”

Sansa was rubbing circles on his knuckles now. But before she could say anything, the oven dinged. 

“Oh,” she said apologetically, “Last batch.” She hopped off the counter and went to take the cookies out of the oven. Jon was watching her back when she suddenly spoke, very softly.

“I kissed Joffrey Baratheon. Or- well, he kissed me.”

Jon wasn’t sure what to make of that statement, but got a sudden feeling of dread. Maybe he read her wrong. “I see.”

“I was stupid and sixteen and angry.”

 _Sixteen._ Realization dawned on him. “Was that after…?”

“Yes. We tried dating -secretly, obviously- but it didn’t work out. _Clearly.”_

“Sansa,” Jon began, “You don’t need to-”

“But he didn’t take it well.” She turned around to face Jon. “He didn’t like the sudden break up and it got, I dunno, _bad._ That’s actually why we hired Brienne.”

Something else clicked in the back of Jon’s mind. “Wait. Baratheon. As in-”

“Yeah, the one who got disinherited and passed over for Gendry and Edric.”

Jon let out a low whistle. Then he asked, “Sansa, why are you telling me this?”

“Joffrey gave me pretty words, pretty gifts, and pretty promises. I don’t want that.”

“Okay.”

“I want truth. Transparency. Stability.”

Jon nodded slowly. “I’d like those things as well. Sansa, where is this coming from?”

She wrung her hands before answering. “Jon, do you want this marriage? If there’s any doubt, any at all, you need to tell me right now. Because I can’t marry you if there’s a part of you that still wishes you were with Daenerys or-”

 _“Daenerys?_ Sansa, where on earth did you get the impression that I want to be with _her?_ Or that I was even with her to begin with.”

Sansa shook her head sadly at him. “She told me, Jon.”

Jon put his mug down and placed his hands on his hips. “What, exactly, did she tell you?”

“You two being each other’s first kiss.”

“But we never-” He cut himself short at the memory. Jon rubbed his face and muttered, “I swear I’m going to stab that woman.” He waved off Sansa’s gasp. “Figure of speech.” Jon walked over to Sansa and held her hands in his. “Look, Daenerys and I, we basically grew up together, went to the same primary and everything.”

“Yes, I know. She told me as much.”

“No, you don’t,” Jon let out a small laugh. “There was a play for school we did when we were thirteen. Jenny and Duncan?”

Sansa understood now. “She fancies herself the Jenny to your Duncan.”

Jon chuckled humourlessly. “Yes, apparently ‘no one can act _that_ in love’ so the kiss _must’ve_ been real.”

Sansa closed her eyes and laughed softly. When she opened them though, Jon could still see doubt in her eyes. _Truth and transparency._

“When I went to university, I _did_ date someone.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Just one relationship though. Ygritte. It was a whirlwind romance that lasted all of three months,” he said sardonically.

Sansa looked up from under her lashes. “Did you love her?”

“I wanted to,” he admitted. “But turns out she wasn’t a big fan of royals. Thought she could somehow turn me against them and take down the system from the inside.”

Sansa was shocked. “She knows that the whole royalty thing is mostly in name though, right? There are governors and chancellors voted in. Politicians and-”

Jon’s laugh cut her off. “Yes, I know. But can you blame her? We _are_ born into a different world than she is. And look at my father.”

Sansa nodded. She knew if circumstances were different, she’d probably feel differently too. Arya already does. 

“When it’s our turn to rule, I want to do it differently. We need to be _better,”_ she said offhandedly.

Jon squeezed her hands. “Yes. _We._ I want to do this with _you,_ Sansa. I’m the one that ended the stupid pact we made, remember?”

Sansa looked at him. “But you’re also the one that suggested it.”

Jon was taken aback by what she said. That’s not how he remembered it. “No,” he said slowly. “No, you’re the one who told me I should date when I went to University. You told me I should find someone. See if I fell in love. And if I did, we’d end our engagement publicly.”

“Because you asked me if _I_ wanted to date anyone else. You said I shouldn’t waste my teenage years while you’re off in King’s Landing. Thought that meant _you_ wanted to date.”

Jon groaned. He let go of her hands and tugged on his hair. When he let go, he smiled sadly at her.

“I said that because I saw your face that night. The week we visited for your sixteenth nameday? It was the night before when Robb and Talisa announced their wedding date and he couldn’t stop talking about her. Said he-”

“He was blessed to be able to marry the love of his life. That he was the _luckiest_ man in the world.” Sansa smiled at the memory. Her older brother was so excited to be able to tell the public what the family already knew.

“Yeah, and I saw you.” Sansa looked at him, confusion written on her face. “I mean, you were happy, anyone could see that. But there was also a sadness there. I couldn’t figure it out, but then on your nameday, when we danced, you were watching them. You said that they were lucky. That Robb was lucky because your parents let him choose who to marry. I wanted you to know that you had a choice too. You _still_ do.”

Sansa covered her mouth then. And Jon could see tears were forming in her eyes. His heart hurt at the sight.

“Sansa, I-”

She dropped her hand and interrupted him again. “That’s _not_ what I said.”

“What?”

She let out a watery chuckle. “I said that Robb was lucky that my parents let _their children_ choose who to marry. ‘Their children’ as in all of us, me included.”

Jon had to take a step back to take in what she said.

“And I already chose _you._ And then I thought you chose me too. When a few years later, you ended our agreement of secretly seeing other people.”

“I did,” he said automatically.

“But on my twenty first, you didn’t look very happy when your father announced our engagement. You looked angry, actually. I assumed you didn’t want to get married anymore, so I asked my parents to tell the King that I wouldn’t marry until after I was twenty five. I wanted you to have more time to-”

It was Jon’s turn to interrupt. “No! That’s not- sweetheart, that anger was _never_ directed at you. Until that point, there was never a formal announcement. No party. No engagement ceremony. No silly interview for _Dorne Weekly._ Nothing. You deserved better than some drunken declaration. I was angry with my father. _Never_ at you.”

Sansa was speechless. She took her time to process what he just said. When she looked up at him, she smiled softly. “You called me ‘sweetheart.’”

Jon huffed out a laugh. _“That’s_ what you choose to focus on?”

She grinned at him. “That’s the best part.”

Jon smiled back then slumped his shoulders. “We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

Sansa nodded. “Yeah, I think we do.” She looked around the kitchen just then. “But that can wait until tomorrow. I should probably clean this up, and we should head to bed soon.”

His eyebrows shot up and he smirked at her.

_“Separate beds, Prince Jon.”_

He laughed and started helping her put things away.

When Sansa lifted their mugs to the sink, she shook her head. “I still can’t believe you have a fridge specifically for milks and cheeses.”

Jon shrugged. “Our head chef is particular about milk and cheese storage, I guess. These all come from the same farm by Visenya’s Hill.” He suddenly had a thought. “Sansa?”

“Yes?” she responded from the sink, where she was washing up.

“Have you ever milked a cow before?”

Sansa turned off the faucet and looked at him strangely. “No…”

“Do you want to?”

She gave Jon a fake laugh and immediately said, “No.”

Jon snorted. “Fair enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look guys, idk how castle floor plans work, let’s just say Aegon's gotta go past the kitchens to get to the family room with the presents LOL


	9. nine ladies dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 9 already?! our countdown till christmas is coming to a close!

“Knock, knock?”

Sansa looked at Jeyne in confusion, it was a bit early in the morning for company. 

“Come in!” Jeyne called.

Brienne walked in and announced, “Mr. Flowers, my Lady.”

“Hello and good morning, Lady Sansa! I hope you had a nice sleep.”

“Hi, Satin. Yes, I slept well, thank you.” Sansa smiled at him. She had been surprised when she first met the young man. His personality was the complete opposite of Jon, and yet Jon was always incredibly protective of his secretary. They worked well together.

“Oh, goody!” Satin said. He looked down to his clipboard, as if reading some notes. “Just wanted to give you some updates. Now, the car will be ready half an hour before noon, so you have plenty of time to get ready after breakfast. I do suggest wearing thick trousers and good walking shoes though. Winter decided to pay a visit, so it is a _lot_ colder today and you’ll be walking quite a bit.” When Satin looked back up, he frowned at Sansa’s confusion. “Oh, um. Did Jeyne not tell you?”

Sansa turned in time to see Jeyne wince. 

“Hadn’t gotten the chance yet, was just about to tell her.”

“Tell me what?”

“Jon’s taking you to Visenya’s Hill today!” Satin exclaimed. “It’s the week of Christmas and there’s always a little festival held there during this time. That’s okay, right?”

Sansa was surprised, but she was also excited. “Oh, well that does sound like a lot of fun.”

“Perfect! I’ll let you ladies get ready for the day then.”

Once the door closed behind Satin, Sansa immediately turned to Jeyne.

“What’ve you been planning?”

Jeyne rubbed her neck sheepishly. “I may have spent the better part of last night texting Satin. Apparently, you weren’t the only miserable one in the castle. Prince Jon was moping to Satin in his office. And this morning, I got a text from Satin saying that Jon wanted to take you to Christmas in the Square. Apparently it’s an annual thing held at Visenya’s Hill.”

A small smile grew on Sansa’s face. Jon actually never mentioned why he was up last night. _That explains his need for hot chocolate._ She wasn’t going to tell Jeyne about that just yet. For now, last night was meant for her and Jon only. 

\--

“Lady Sansa! Glad for you to join us,” the King greeted her as Sansa walked in the room.

“Yes, dear, I hope you’re alright?” Elia asked her, concern written all over her face. “We missed you at dinner. Miss Poole said you had a headache?”

Sansa ducked her head shyly. “Yes, I’m feeling better. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Nonsense,” his father shrugged off her apology.

When she took her seat next to him, Jon couldn’t help but smile. He leaned in and whispered, “Good morning, _Sweetheart.”_ He leaned back and enjoyed the pretty blush on her cheeks. 

Sansa turned to smile at him. “Good morning, Jon. Sleep well?”

“Slept like a baby,” he declared.

“How?” Aegon asked. “You two stayed up _way_ later than me!”

His mother’s eyebrows shot up. “And how late was that, Aegon?”

_Busted._

The comical way his brother’s eyes bulged made Jon laugh. He quickly tried to cover it with a cough. Luckily, Sansa was quick to the rescue.

“Oh, it seems like a lot of us couldn’t sleep very well last night. Aegon ventured into the kitchen and caught me baking some cookies,” she said in a sheepish voice, as if it was _her_ fault Aegon stayed up. “Jon showed up not too long after.”

His mother shot a skeptical look at his brother. “Couldn’t sleep, hm?”

Aegon nodded eagerly. “Yes, Mama, I couldn’t sleep. Terrible dreams.” He shook his head sadly. Jon snorted into his coffee. He was mildly impressed. If Jon didn’t know any better, he’d fall for it.

“Aw, you guys baked cookies last night without me?” Rhaenys pouted.

“Without me too!” Arianne chimed in, and he noticed she sent Sansa an amused look before turning to his sister. “We should just make our own cookies without them today, hoh Rhae?”

“Yeah!”

“Wait, can I help too? I didn’t get to make cookies last night! I ate one, but then Jon sent me back to bed. He and Sansa were making more when I left.”

Arianne whipped her head over to him and Sansa and he didn’t like the way her exaggerated scandalized shock turned into a cheshire grin. “Cousin Jon!”

He groaned internally when he noticed his parents eyebrows had shot up too. But he was saved by Sansa again.

“Well, it _was_ getting rather late for you to stay up, Aegon. And I had to finish what I started.” She turned to his parents and continued explaining herself. “You see, I think I was just feeling a bit homesick yesterday. And baking Christmas cookies is sort of a tradition in my family. And Jon was just kind enough to help.”

“Oh! Where are they now then?” his father asked her.

“I left them in a container in the kitchen,” she replied, if a bit sheepishly, “I figured it’d be silly to try and eat them all.”

“Well, I would love to try one!” His father then gestured to one of the attendants and asked them to bring in the cookies. His father may have looked far too pleased himself, but his mother? She looked obnoxiously smug.

“So,” Elia started, “Jon helped you with one of your traditions, Sansa? He’s rather _accommodating_ isn’t he?” She then laced her fingers together on the table and rested her chin on them, smiling so _sweetly_ to Sansa. 

Sansa, to her credit, didn’t look phased and chuckled softly. “Yes, he is.”

When the breakfast attendant came back, he had Sansa’s cookies piled on a plate and arranged in an artful manner.

“Wow,” Arianne laughed, “You two really went all out.”

Jon shook his head. “No, Sansa did everything. I just helped her frost some of those cookies.”

“What kind are they, Sansa?” Elia asked, her eyes perusing the plate.

“We have your classic gingerbread cookies, then some cinnamon sugar cookies, and then plain sugar cookies with some colored icing and sprinkles on top.” He noticed Sansa smiling when she mentioned the icing. After cleaning up last night, the cookies had cooled enough for her to decorate them, and Jon offered to stay and help.

“Oh, uh…” Arianne said with a confused tone in her voice, “I’m so sorry, Sansa, what is this supposed to be?” She held up one of the sugar cookies and Jon groaned. Of course she had to pick one of his. Sansa cracked a smile.

“That’s supposed to be a direwolf. I was trying to draw Sansa’s family crest.” He winced, ready for the onslaught of insults he’s sure were to come.

His father just let out a loud laugh when Arianne showed everyone else.

Elia squinted at the cookie. “Perhaps you should leave the decorating to Sansa from now, darling.”

“That doesn’t look anything like a direwolf,” Rhaenys said, as if it wasn’t obvious.

“It kinda looks like a booger,” Aegon offered.

“Not words I want to hear at the breakfast table.”

Everyone looked up to see Daenerys walk in the room. She took a seat by Arianne, across from Sansa. 

“Good morning everyone, sorry I’m late. Hope you weren’t all waiting. Had a late night with some friends. Ooh, cookies!” She grabbed one from the plate and took a bite.

“Yes, they’re delicious aren’t they, Dany?” his father smiled at the young woman. “Lady Sansa made them last night! Isn’t that amazing?”

Jon could’ve sworn he saw Daenerys’ eye twitch when she looked at Sansa. She at least had the decency to swallow it. _“Delicious.”_

\--

“So, where are you taking me today, Jon?” Sansa hopped down the last steps towards the car, with Jeyne a few steps behind. Sansa loved that the weather took a turn and was chilly. There wasn’t any snow yet, but the cold weather made her feel more at home. Plus, she enjoyed seeing Jon all layered up in his winter coats. He looked snug.

“King’s Landing’s annual Christmas in the Park in Visenya’s Hill,” Jon declared. “It should be a treat, I haven’t gone in a few years myself, so I’m as excited as you.” 

Before Sansa could respond, they heard scuffing from the side and saw Podrick running towards them. When he reached them, he bowed to Jon and Sansa and sent a quick glance behind them to Jeyne.

“Hello Prince Jon,” he said, with a slight wheeze, “I’ve been assigned to be head of your security detail today, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, Podrick. Is everything alright with Arthur?”

“Oh yes! Er- I, well-”

“It’s good to have you with us today, Podrick. I trust you’ll keep us safe.” Sansa smiled at him. She had a feeling Podrick specifically requested to be assigned with them today so he could roam the streets with a pretty brunette assistant of hers.

Podrick sent her a smile of thanks. “Right. Well, we’re ready to go when you are. I’ll ride with Oswell and Miss Tarth in the front, and my men will follow in the car behind.”

When they settled in the car, Jon turned to Sansa.

“Well, that was weird.”

Sansa bit her lip, trying to tame her smile. She glanced at Jon before looking to Jeyne. 

“Yes, it was strange. I wonder what could _possibly_ make Podrick so flustered.”

Jeyne looked up at Sansa and sniffed before going back to typing away on her tablet. Sansa leaned back in seat with a satisfied smile. When she looked at Jon and saw his surprised look, she nodded.

\--

They were strolling down the cobblestone street, admiring all of the different booths set up. Jon looked behind them and smiled before turning back to Sansa.

“Your assistant and my security guard. Who would’ve thought.”

Sansa giggled behind her hand. “Oh Jeyne and Pod have been sweet on each other for years now. I think it was a few years ago when he got promoted? He had started being more involved with your security detail, and when Brienne saw him, she was excited and introduced us.”

Jon’s eyebrow rose. “Brienne?”

“Yes, she was his mentor or something like that back in the Academy,” Sansa explained. “I think every student in their last year had to take a first year under their wing, and Brienne was assigned Podrick.”

“You know a lot about the people who work for you.”

Sansa looked at him in a way he couldn’t decipher.

“Jeyne and Brienne are more than just my employees. They’re my friends. Jeyne is probably my closest confidante.”

Jon knew they two went to University together, but he didn’t realize the closeness of their friendship. He was surprised. And before he could voice his surprise, Sansa clapped her hands.

“Jon, look!” She pointed to the ice rink. “Can we go skating?”

He really wanted to say no. Jon was not very good with balance, but when he looked at Sansa’s lit up face, he couldn’t deny her.

\--

Sansa wished Jon said no. That way, they wouldn’t be sitting down on a bench with an icepack on his shoulder. 

“I’m so sorry! You should have told me you don’t ice skate!”

“No, it’s fine! It’s just been a while, is all.” He softly groaned again when the ice pack shifted. “But how about we just walk around in our shoes for the rest of the time?”

Sansa smiled at him. “Deal.” 

After some more light teasing, she and Jon were back to walking around and they stopped in the plaza, where more booths and snack bars were set up around the perimeter. Sansa noticed that each one had business cards for people to take. 

She turned to Jon and asked, “Are these businesses all from King’s Landing?”

He nodded. “Sort of. I think these are just the ones in the Visenya’s Hill District. Maybe a few from Rhaeny’s Hill, though they have their own holiday parade for the New Year, I think.”

“And what does Flea Bottom have?”

\--

Jon had to really ponder on that. But when he came up with nothing, he shook his head. “I don’t think they have any celebrations or parades. At least none that I can think of.”

Sansa pursed her lips. “Well,” she said slowly. “I think they should have something similar. It doesn’t have to be for the same holiday, but look how much people have come from all over. These businesses are bound to have generated a lot of profit.”

Jon looked around and couldn’t help but notice she was right. People from all over Westeros vacationed here during the holidays. He even noticed some Braavosi and Essosi people. Why _can’t_ Flea Bottom do something similar? He looked down at Sansa and could practically see her mind whirring. This woman was truly something else. 

He was suddenly interrupted by a small group of children who were followed by a few septas. A little boy tugged on his arms.

“Are you Prince Jon?”

He crouched down and smiled at the little boy. “Why yes, yes I am.” Jon found himself suddenly surrounded by the group of children, each one trying to wave hello and get his attention. He looked up and noticed Sansa catching the Septa’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, these children…?” She gestured to the small group.

“They’re from the Children’s Shelter in Flea Bottom, my Lady,” the septa explained, “Some of them are just from the poorer families living there, but most are orphans. We like to take them up here to see the festivities every year.” He saw Sansa pressing her lips together as she took in the number of children. A little girl then walked up to Sansa and grabbed her hand.

“Are you a princess?”

Sansa moved down to be at eye level with the little girl and smiled softly. “No, I’m not. But I will be marrying the Prince, so I’ll be Princess _one_ day.”

The girl sighed. “I wish I could be Princess one day too.” 

Jon had a feeling Sansa’s heart was aching for the children. She was compassionate like that. She then beckoned someone over and Jon saw it was a man from one of the booths. He was selling toy crowns and swords. Sansa hesitantly gestured to one of the tiaras and the man gave her one. She then placed it gently on the girl’s head.

“I think you can be a princess _today.”_ And when she saw the curious looks of the other children, she smiled and spoke in a louder voice. “I think we can _always_ use more Princesses and Princes.”

The vendor stuttered. _“All_ of them, my Lady?”

Sansa placed a hand on the man’s arm and whispered, “I’ll take care of it, I promise.”

The man nodded gratefully to her before he started passing out crowns and tiaras and scepters and swords with the help of the septas. Sansa then looked back and caught Jeyne’s eye. She jerked her head towards the vendor, and Jeyne nodded before walking over to take care of the costs. 

Jon couldn’t help the look of awe on his face. She never ceases to surprise him. He stood up and smiled at all of the children, who were all very delighted at the new toys they had. 

Then suddenly out of nowhere, it started to snow. Not enough to ruin the day, but enough to light up Sansa’s face. When she looked back to him and smiled, her eyes were shining. 

\--

After spending some more time with the children, the septas said they had to take them back to Flea Bottom, as the bus they used was on a schedule. The snow didn’t last very long, so Jon and Sansa didn’t have to worry about heading back early either. 

They continued exploring and visiting almost every booth and even stopped at the Golden Cloak Farms’ booth. The owners were giving out samples of their cheeses and showing off their largest cow. Jon suddenly looked like he remembered something.

“Hey, Lady Sansa?” he called out.

Sansa looked over to Jon in confusion. He hadn’t referred to her as ‘Lady’ since they agreed to drop the titles. She didn’t like the mischievous look in his eye. “Yes?” she asked hesitantly. 

“Would you want to try milking the cow? These fine gentlemen here say she’s just about ready.”

Before Sansa could protest, the farmers looked at her with joy. 

“Oh yes, my Lady! It would be an honor.” 

“Oh, no, I couldn’t-” she tried to decline.

“Nonsense! It’s very satisfying to be able to use and drink the milk that you’ve gotten yourself!”

She couldn’t say no to the man’s enthusiasm. And before she knew it, he had grabbed a stool and bucket and ushered Sansa towards the cow.

“Now, you just grab it by the teat here, and pull and squeeze down.”

Sansa nodded and smiled nervously and placed her hand on the utters. She hid her grimace and shut her eyes.

“How is it, Lady Sansa?” Jon was sounding far too amused.

“It’s… _warm,”_ she whispered.

Jon clearly couldn’t help it anymore. He laughed at her.

\--

“You’re awful and I want you to know that.”

Jon laughed yet again. “Well, now you can tell people you’ve milked a cow!”

Sansa snorted at him. “Yes, and you don’t get to try a single drop.” She handed the bottle to Jeyne, who put it in her bag. 

Suddenly, a man with a baton waved at them. “Prince Jon, Lady Sansa!” He tapped on his podium with the baton and announced, “Musicians! Dancing music for the Prince and his Lady!” 

The small orchestra began to play a soft, but festive tune. Sansa smiled at Jon and raised her eyebrows in question.

“I’m not a very good dancer,” he warned.

She shrugged at him. “You don’t have to be.”

He held his hand out to her, palm side up, and she took it. As Jon spun her around, other people began to join in. They were surrounded by men and their ladies dancing. 

As they danced, Sansa laughed and told Jon to remind her to thank Satin later. When he asked why, she said it was for suggesting that she wear comfortable shoes. 

Jon, true to his word, stepped on her toes more than a few times.

\--

“Again, I’m so sorry.”

Sansa laughed. “If this was payback for your bruise from ice skating, looks like _I_ should be the one apologizing.”

Jon’s eyes grew. “Did I bruise you?”

Sansa shook her head and laughed again and continued walking around. They were nearing the end of the trip and saw almost every single booth. Almost.

“Oh my goodness!” She quickened her pace to one of the tents at the end and when Jon caught up to her, he saw what made her so excited.

Sitting on the floor in the middle of the canopy tent was Sansa, surrounded by puppies. 

“Jon look! Aren’t they so precious?” 

Jon silently laughed at her. She _did_ say she was fond of small, cute things. 

\--

They spent the rest of their time at the animal shelter stand, playing with pups. When it was time to leave, Sansa was almost pouting. She held onto the two little puppies who had been clinging on her the entire time. One was small and shy and kept trying to snuggle with her. The other was a bit smaller but less shy and kept trying to get pets from her. She had a hard time letting go, but she had to. It was time to head back. When Sansa got up, Jeyne pulled her over and started dusting off the dog fur. Sansa let out a loud laugh when Jeyne pulled out a lint roller.

“You really come prepared for everything, don’t you? You are _utterly_ perfect.”

Jeyne smirked. “And don’t you forget it.”

As Sansa was getting de-furred, Jon quietly spoke with the workers of the animal shelter.

\--

The drive back was quiet. It seemed the day took its toll on Jon and Sansa. But still, she turned to him and spoke.

“Today was wonderful, Jon. Thank you.”

He smiled back at her. “Well, I figured if we’re going to give this a go and _really_ try, I needed to put in better effort.”

She gave him a questioning look, but he ignored it. Instead he said, “As far as first dates go, I’d say this was a success, no?”

Sansa bit her lip and smiled at him. Jon couldn’t get enough of her smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY-  
> 1- idk what's up with modern royalty films and their fascination with having orphans, but, you know, gotta check off that box ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 😂  
> 2- christmas cookies to anyone who can spot the princess diaries scene👀🤭  
> 3- as a city girl born and raised, i milked a cow ONCE in my life, and it was a wild experience LMAO 10/10 would recommend


	10. ten lords a-leaping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 10 of our 12 days till christmas! 
> 
> such fast updates, who _is_ she?  
> it's another treat for you all today! yesterday was "the royals visit town" and today's checkmark off our hallmark movie boxes is the obligatory horseback riding!

Jon had an early morning. His excitement from yesterday bled over to today and he didn’t want that feeling to end.

So that’s how he found himself in the stables after breakfast, readying the horses with the stablemen. He had planned for this to happen days ago, but of course, things rarely went on schedule for him.

His phone pinged. Looking down, he saw a text from Satin confirming the day’s plans. With a satisfied smile, Jon left the stable and went off to go change. 

He and Sansa had such a good time yesterday, but like the idiot he is, he forgot to ask her the question that’s been nagging at him. Does she want to come back soon after Christmas? Can he come visit her instead? He knows they’ve got a long way to go in terms of getting to really know each other, but Jon thinks that now that they’re both finally on the same page, things are looking up. 

And of course, he also forgot to give her the present.

\--

After breakfast, Jon said he had some things to take care of, but asked her to keep her lunch and afternoon free. So now Sansa found herself walking around the halls of the Red Keep. She wanted to reacquaint herself with the castle. Sansa remembered playing around the halls with Jon and her siblings when they were younger. At some point though, Jon became a teenager and felt awkward and then Sansa did too. 

As she continued reminiscing, she stopped walking and found herself standing in front of a portrait of Queen Lyanna. Sansa couldn’t help but notice all of the similarities between the late Queen and Jon. The same dark hair and solemn smile. The same kind eyes. A wave of sadness washed over Sansa just then. She can’t imagine what it must have been like for Jon to lose his mother so soon. Sansa was still too young at the time to really understand what was going on during the funeral service, but she knew Jon was sad. A memory of her sitting quietly on a bench next to him resurfaced. Sansa wondered how many more moments like that happened that she had forgotten. But before she could think more on it, someone behind her cleared their throat.

She turned around and immediately curtsied. “King Rhaegar.”

“Lady Sansa.” He smiled softly, but Sansa saw that his eyes were on the portrait behind her. He walked towards her and then stood by her side, eyes never leaving his late wife. Sansa didn’t know what to do, so she followed suit and looked at the portrait as well. It was a moment before the King spoke again. “I hope your stay so far has been a welcome one.”

“It has, Your Majesty.”

“No, none of that.” He glanced down at her and smirked. “One day, you’ll be calling me family. So for now, you may call me Rhaegar.”

Sansa nodded. She wasn’t sure what to say here. She’s never actually been alone with King Rhaegar before. 

“You know,” he said, interrupting her thoughts, “It started off as an offhand comment from Lyanna. She said she wanted someone good for Jon. Someone kind. At that point, we already had a very warm relationship with the Lord and Lady Stark. Jon and young Lord Robb were friendly and I liked how your parents raised him. So when your birth was announced and we visited your mother, I suggested a betrothal. Your father looked unsure, but your mother smiled at you bundled in her arms. ‘My daughter, a queen.’ she said.”

Rhaeger paused, but Sansa still didn’t know what to say to that, so she waited.

“And of course, years go by and Lyanna grows more fond of you. She said you were a perfect little lady at three. So kind and courteous.” He smiled at what must have been a very good memory, but then the smile fell into a frown. “As her health got worse though, she said less and less. But do you know what one of the last things she said to me was?”

“No,” Sansa whispered softly.

“She reminded me to ensure Jon’s happiness. To make sure he spends his life with someone good and kind.” Rhaegar turned to Sansa just then, so she faced him back. “You are someone who is very good and very kind, Sansa.”

Again, she didn’t know what to say to that. But that doesn’t matter, Sansa understood now. Why Rhaegar was always so insistent on her and Jon’s marriage. If your wife makes a dying wish, you grant it.

Rhaegar cleared his throat. “And I think you’ll be infinitely kinder to him than I ever was.”

“You did what you thought was best, my love,” a soft voice behind them said. 

Queen Elia raised a gentle hand to stop Sansa from curtsying. Clearly she shared the same sentiments as her husband. 

“Queen Lyanna was an _amazing_ woman who had an amazing son,” she said, looking up at the portrait. “Hard shoes to fill.”

Rhaegar pulled his wife in and kissed her temple. “You’re amazing as well.” 

Suddenly feeling like she was intruding, Sansa excused herself, saying she had better get ready to meet Jon.

\--

Jon stopped pacing as soon as he saw Sansa. “Perfect! You’re here.”

She smiled at him. “I would ask what today’s plans are, but seeing as Jeyne told me to dress in my riding gear, I can only guess.” Sansa took his arm and they walked towards the stables, quietly talking and giggling the whole way. They were so engrossed with each other, they didn’t notice their surroundings. They walked past the group of ducklings and swans. They didn’t notice Arianne teaching Rhaenys and Aegon archery. They didn’t notice a fuming Lady Daenerys.

\--

They were well into the trail by the time Sansa’s stomach began to grumble. Jon softly laughed.

“I take it that it’s time we stop for lunch?”

They rode into a small clearing and after hopping off his horse, he helped Sansa off of hers. By the blush on her face, Jon safely assumed that she felt tingles where his hands were on her waist; _his_ fingers were certainly tingling.

As he was securing the horses, Sansa was setting up their little picnic. He thanked whichever gods were listening that it wasn’t raining or snowing. 

When Jon sat down on the blanket she set out he asked her, “I’ll admit that I had Satin take care of the food, so I apologize in advance if there’s something you don’t like.”

“Don’t worry, when Jeyne told me what you were planning, I helped pack the basket.” 

Before Jon could say anything, Sansa stuck her hand in the basket. Curious as to what food she brought, he watched intently as she pulled out-

“Is that a… jar of flowers?” 

Sansa bit back a smile and didn’t reply. She then pulled out a few candles and a lighter before bringing out the food, which turned out to be a variety of tea sandwiches and pastries. And even a bottle of dessert wine! Jon could only stare dumbly as she lit the candles and placed them next to the mini bouquet of flowers. Unfortunately, a light breeze snuffed out the flame.

“Damn, Jeyne was right. Ah well,” Sansa grumbled. When she looked up, she was met with the face of a very confused Jon. She smiled brightly. “Lunch is served!”

“Sansa, what’s all this?”

She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially to him, “I’m trying to _woo_ you, Prince Jon.” 

He shook his head in disbelief and laughed. “Well, alright then.”

\--

Sansa plated the sandwiches as Jon poured the wine. They were a few bites in before Sansa blurted out, “I want children.”

Jon choked on his wine.

_Nice timing, Sansa._ She gave him a napkin and winced. When he calmed down, Jon looked at her and Sansa noticed his eyes were still bulging. 

“Wha- like _now?”_

Sansa flushed. “No! I mean- like,” Sansa was laughing now. This whole situation was ridiculous, why did she bring it up? “Like, in the future.”

Jon cracked a smile. “I’d like children too… I’m pretty sure that’s always been in the plans for us.”

Sansa shook her head and chuckled nervously. “No, I don’t mean like- I don’t mean I want to just pop out some heirs, you know? I want children just because. And once we’re married, I don’t really want to wait.” 

“Okay.” Jon nodded slowly. He leaned back in thought. “I’d like that. And I want a lot of them.”

It was Sansa’s turn to be shocked. Her eyebrows rose and her eyes widened. “I just- a lot… how much is- huh?”

It seemed that Jon realized the implications of his words and laughed. “No, I don’t mean something like twelve. I just like the idea of a big family. Like yours.”

Sansa sighed in relief. A family like hers is something she can get behind. 

“And divided time,” Jon suddenly said. “I -uh- I know as future King, our permanent residence has to be here, but I want to spend time in Winterfell too. So, until the time comes, we make sure to be with your family too. I want our children to know and love their mother’s family.”

The rush of emotions was too great for Sansa. _Oh yes, falling in love with Jon was getting easier and easier by the day._ She quickly leaned in and kissed his cheek. 

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Jon, blushing now, cleared his throat. “Also, er, speaking of. I wanted to ask you. Would you want to come back? That is, come back to visit again soon? Or if you’d rather, I can come to Winterfell? And if it’s alright with you, I can come visit on most weekends? The flight isn’t too bad, I don’t mind it. I just… I don’t want us backtracking to going months without seeing each other again.”

“I’d like that, very much so.”

They continued talking as they ate. Sharing more tidbits about each other, memories from their youth, plans for their future. _Their future._ When they finished, they stood up and started to clean. Sansa figured now was as good a time as any.

“Jon?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

Sansa smiled softly at the endearment. “There’s one more thing that’s really important to me.”

He stopped what he was doing and gave her his undivided attention.

“No betrothals,” she said. 

Jon furrowed his brows. “I’m not following.”

“We don’t make any betrothals for our children. You know what it did to Robb. He almost left the family. And that was _with_ the knowledge of how understanding my parents are. And,” she hesitated before continuing, “And you saw what it did to us. That kind of expectation…” She shook her head. “Even though I was told there was no pressure- Jon, there’s _always_ pressure when it comes to betrothals.”

Jon walked over to her and embraced her. He kissed the top of her head.

“I can’t say with full conviction that we would have been together sooner or even at all without a betrothal, but you’re right. We’re not putting our children through that. I promise.”

\--

They were riding their horses back when Jon sighed.

“I’m going to miss this peace and quiet.”

“What do you mean?” Sansa questioned

“It’s Christmas Eve, the noble families are arriving today. Some of them stay in the guest wing in the Keep.”

“Ah, I see. Is it that bad?”

Jon just looked at her. She had _no_ idea.

\--

And just like he said, when they left the quiet bubble of the trees, they could already see cars arriving and the loud bustling of various Lords and their families. Valets were scurrying about, nannies were trying to rein in the children of lords who were running and leaping about, and overseeing it all were the King and Queen themselves. They were greeting their new guests. 

When they entered the stable, Jeyne and Satin were waiting for them.

“Oh thank _gods!_ Why weren’t you answering your phones?” Jeyne demanded.

“Uh- the reception isn’t always great out there,” Jon explained. He got off his horse and handed the reins to the stable boy before helping Sansa off hers.

“Jeyne, what’s wrong?” Sansa asked.

Jeyne looked from her to Jon and grabbed her hand. “I’ll explain on the way.”

Confused but trusting Jeyne, Sansa went with her. Satin and Jon were right on their tails.

When Brienne saw them, she immediately walked over. 

“Good, you found them,” she said to Jeyne. “My Lady, may I suggest we head to your rooms? Quickly?”

_“What_ is going on?” Jon’s question was answered for him.

“Jon! Lady Sansa! Look who’s just arrived! My date for the ball tomorrow!”

They looked over to see a smug Lady Daenerys, arm in arm with a very smarmy looking Joffrey Baratheon, whose eyes were boring into Sansa. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	11. eleven pipers piping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE PENULTIMATE CHAPTER  
> day 11 of 12 days of Christmas~~
> 
> also omg  
> me: leaves THAT cliff hanger  
> a good chunk of you guys: rhaegar is.... kind? i am?? confusion??¿???¿?  
> #priorities  
> i love you all, my lovelies❤️😂

**Then**

“Come now darling, you know it’s not why. And I said I was sorry.”

“Stop it, Joffrey. Sorry doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want this.” Sansa was getting increasingly annoyed as he kept talking. She had ended things with him weeks ago and yet this was not their first conversation since. When she turned away, he grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

“You know I don’t like it when you walk away from me.”

“Unhand me _now.”_ Sansa shot daggers at him. He let her go. Joffrey always seemed to listen to her when she used her Lady voice. “I believe I made myself _very_ clear, _Lord Baratheon._ We’re done here.” Sansa gave him one last glare before walking away.

“We’re not done until I say we’re done.  _ Lady Sansa.” _

Sansa hurried her steps. She didn’t like the way that sounded.

\--

**Now**

It took Jon a split second to put a name to the face. And in that second, his fist clenched, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw locked.  _ What the bloody hells are you playing at, Daenerys? _

“Miss Tarth?”

“Yes, Prince Jon?”

“Take Lady Sansa to her rooms if you please. Stop for no one.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Jon-”

He turned back to Sansa and softened his gaze. “Go back to the castle, Sansa. It’s okay.” When she didn’t look convinced, Jon cupped her cheek and kissed the other. “I’ll take care of it,” he promised. He watched Sansa leave, glad her bodyguard was with her.

“Miss Poole, go with them.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” Jeyne gave a quick curtsy before following Sansa.

“Satin-”

“Already on it.” 

By the time Daenerys and Lord Joffrey reached him, Jon managed to calm down. He needed to take a page out of Sansa’s book and put on his Prince’s face. With visitors all over the castle, it would not do well for the Prince to be seen punching anyone. At least, his mother wouldn’t think so.

“Jon, I’d like to introduce you to Lord Joffrey Baratheon,” Daenerys said. The smile she gave Jon made his skin crawl. And then with faux-concern, she asked, “Where did Lady Sansa go? I hope she’s alright. I heard she was feeling a bit under the weather the other day.”

Jon ignored her. His eyes did not leave Joffrey Baratheon.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe you were invited, Baratheon.” Well. So much for politeness. That didn’t matter, the fact that Jon showed he was bothered was amusing enough for the other man, who continued to smirk at the situation.

“Well, actually, the Baratheons were invited here as guests,” he said, “My father-”

“Your father was indeed invited. But he also probably doesn’t know you’re even here,” Jon interrupted, “Or am I mistaken and that’s not him with Lord Gendry and Lord Edric over there?”

Lord Joffrey didn’t even have to turn around to look. He knew. And he was seething. But before he could say anything, Daenerys spoke up.

“It’s such an insult to you! You’re his first born son,” she simpered. She then turned to Jon and continued the sympathetic charade. “And you know what’s worse? Poor Joffrey here feels  _ so _ used. He was dating this girl and when his father made that ridiculous decision to disinherit him, she  _ dumped  _ him! I guess whoever it was, she was only after the money!”

Jon suddenly knew where this was going. And he didn’t like it one bit. 

“Actually,” Lord Joffrey said, “You know the person who I was dating. It’s-”

“Prince Jon!” 

They all turned to the voice. It looks like Satin had grabbed Podrick and a few of his men. And Jon thanked the gods that Satin was able to find someone. If Joffrey Baratheon had even  _ uttered _ Sansa’s name, Jon’s not sure what he would’ve done. 

“Perfect timing,” Jon told them. “Podrick, I’d like for you to escort  _ Mister _ Baratheon off the premises. He’s not to be allowed back on the grounds no matter what, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Podrick looked at the men he brought with him and nodded towards the indignant looking lord.

“Wh- Mister?” he sputtered. “Do you know who I am?”

Jon rounded back to him and arched a brow. “Do you know who  _ I _ am?” He felt satisfaction when he noticed the other man visibly gulping. 

When Podrick moved to grab him though, he resisted. And that resistance led to a hard but quiet clock in the gut. It seemed Podrick knocked all of the air out of Joffrey Baratheon’s windpipes with one hit. With the man now more agreeable, Podrick escorted the fuming lord away. Daenerys frowned.

“Jon, you can’t just do that!”

He glared at her. “If you try to pull another stunt like that,  _ you’re _ off the premises too.”

She looked shocked. “But I’m family,” she said in a soft voice.

“No. You’re not,” Jon scoffed. He then turned to Satin and said, “Watch her.” After that, he walked off, uncaring of Daenerys and not noticing her chin wobble. 

\--

Sansa was pacing. In her head, she knew everything would be fine and that Jon would take care of everything, but in her heart? She was a wreck. Joffrey always had a way of throwing her off her kilter. 

“Sansa, stop,” Jeyne said, for the hundredth time. “There’s no use in worrying like that.”

It’s not that Jeyne was wrong, but Sansa couldn’t help it. It’s been twenty minutes now and she knows that whatever Joffrey said would be awful. She knows it’s a stupid worry, but Sansa’s afraid of Jon looking at her differently. Suddenly the door opened and in came Jon. 

\--

The last thing Jon was expecting when opening her door was Sansa launching herself at him.

“Jon!”

“Ooof!”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I know he was here just to cause a scene and embarrass me and I’m sorry. Are you okay? Did he do anything to you? Say anything? This is all my fault, I didn’t-”

“Sansa, stop!” Jon stopped her babbling. “He didn’t do anything, I promise.” Jon filed away the thought of why Sansa would ask him if Joffrey Baratheon did anything to him for later. Right now was not the time. 

“Miss Poole? Will you excuse us?”

Jeyne nodded and left the room, closing the door quietly.

“What did he say?” Sansa immediately asked.

“It’s not important,” he reassured her.

“No, Jon. What did he say?”

Jon hesitated. He didn’t want to tell her, but they promised each other. Truth and transparency. So they sat down and he told her exactly what happened. 

She laughed humorously. “Of course he’d mention the money. You know what’s ironic? The moment he was disinherited, he came crawling back. Begging me to give him a chance again.” Sansa shook her head at the memory. “What’s even funnier, is that I’m pretty sure  _ I’m _ the reason he was disinherited in the first place.”

Jon was confused by that. He could see the asshole trying to weasel his way back into Sansa’s good graces, but he couldn’t see how she would have anything to do with the Baratheon’s personal matters. Sansa must have seen the look of confusion on his face, because she explained it rather succinctly. 

“My father is very good friends with Lord Robert Baratheon.”

Suddenly everything made sense to Jon. He always assumed that Lord and Lady Stark never hurried their marriage simply because they didn’t think it necessary. His father was the King. If the King didn’t press  _ too _ hard (though, at times he did), then they wouldn’t either. But if Sansa’s parents were involved, maybe they knew more about Sansa and Jon’s agreement to date other people than he previously thought. When he asked her, she confirmed.

“I had to tell, I’m sorry,” she said. She was talking to her hands, as if she couldn’t bear to look at him. “It got to the point where I felt like I was being stalked. So I told my parents. They were, of course, very discreet about the whole thing. My father blames Joffrey for it all. Claiming that I was being manipulated. It wasn’t far from the truth, so I let him believe it. But I told my mother. That’s why she was always so insistent on giving me a choice. I guess she figured if we had both agreed to date other people, that meant we didn’t want to marry each other. And then after I insisted that I did, she must’ve assumed I only wanted to because it was a safe option.” Sansa suddenly looked up from her lap. “That’s  _ not _ why I want to marry you, Jon. I’m not with you because you’re a safe option. I need you to know that.” 

And he did. Jon got off the settee and kneeled in front of her. He held her face in his hands, forcing eye contact. “I know that. Look, you and me, we have a lot that we need to work on and talk about. But that’s okay. I know that I want to be with you for you. And you want to be with me for me. And for now, that’s enough. We can work out the small details along the way, okay?”

Sansa nodded. “You and me?”

“You and me.” 

In that moment, just looking at her, Jon knew. Being with Sansa Stark was the only thing he wanted. 

“Sansa?” he whispered.

“Yes?” she replied in the same soft voice.

“I’m going to kiss you know. Is that okay?”

“I don’t think I’m very good at it.”

Jon laughed softly at her. “Neither am I.” And he leaned the rest of the way in and pressed his lips to hers. 

\--

They spent the rest of the day in her living quarters. Jon had asked Satin to make some excuse for his parents as to why the Prince and Lady Sansa weren’t there to greet their guests. And Sansa asked Jeyne to arrange dinner for them. They stayed there until Jeyne had walked in and said it was time for bed.

“I’m not one to judge, but I need my sleep. Whatever you two do, please do it quietly.” Jeyne chuckled as she closed the door to her room, leaving a very red-faced Jon and Sansa.

Jon cleared his throat. “Well, Sansa, I do believe it’s time for me to retire to my own rooms.”

Sansa smiled at him. “Yes, I think so too.”

She walked him to her door and when he walked out of it and turned back to her, she pulled him in for a goodnight kiss. When they pulled apart, Jon looked dazed. “Er, goodnight. Sansa.”

She giggled. “Goodnight, Jon.”

When he left, she closed the door and leaned back on it, smiling. Sansa walked back over to the settee and picked up her phone. As she was about to head to her room to sleep, something nagged at her. Instead of going to her room, she sat back down on the settee and clicked away on her phone. 

A few minutes later, there was a knock on her door. Sansa stood up and opened it.

“You wanted to talk?”

She widened the door and let Daenerys walk in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i like REALLY enjoy cliffhangers.. HAHA
> 
> and because i decided to stop it here, you guys get a longggggggg one tomorrow!!! 💞💕❤️💞💕❤️💞💕❤️  
> happy christmas to those of you who are already on the 25th LMAO 🎅🤶🎄🌟


	12. twelve drummers drumming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *clears throat*  
> 🎶🎶ON THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE,  
> jon and sansa, sittin in a tree  
> K I S S I N G🎶🎶  
> just kidding. there's no tree. but there are kisses. 
> 
> WE MADE IT GUYS, HAPPY JONSAMAS🎅🤶🎄🌟  
> 🎊🎉*throws confetti* 🎊🎉

The two women looked at each other, not saying anything. Sansa was starting to think this was a bad idea. She regretted not planning what she wanted to say and wished she asked Jeyne what to do before making the foolish decision of asking Arianne for Daenerys’ number and using it. Jeyne always knows what to do.

“So?” Daenerys looked at her, eyebrows furrowed with confused innocence. “What was it you wanted to speak with me about, Sansa?”

Sansa wasn’t fooled by her ingenue act. But honestly? It’s been a long day and she was tired. With a sigh, she sat down and gestured at one of the armchairs for Daenerys to sit. 

“I suppose I’ll just go right out and say it. I don’t understand you, Daenerys. _What_ is your problem?”

The angelic look on her face morphed into something more conniving. Sinister. She leaned back and smiled. “Why, I don’t believe I have a problem.”

“Really? Because I think you do. I think you have a problem with _me._ Your constant dismissals of me. Your blatant flirtation with Jon. And earlier today, when you brought Joffrey Baratheon here? What exactly did you think that would accomplish?”

Daenerys blinked in surprise, though Sansa doubted she was. “My my, someone sure thinks highly of herself. I’m so sorry for not giving you my attention every second of the day, Sansa. I didn’t realize I had to. And I’m sorry you’re just _so_ insecure of my history with Jon-”

“Your history? You mean the one where you took advantage of the King and Queen’s kindness in taking you in after your parents’ death? Or the one where you seem to think performing a kiss in a play as children somehow means that Jon’s secretly in love with you, when in fact, that couldn’t be further from the truth? That history?” 

Something flashed in Daenerys’ eyes before she placed another smile on. “I don’t know wha-”

“Don’t act coy. It’s just us now, no need for false pretenses.”

They stared at one another and after a beat, Daenerys responded.

“Fine, you want to know what my problem with you is? You don’t belong here.” With that declaration, she stood up and started pacing. “Do you know how awful it is living with this picturesque fairytale princess hanging over your head? Of wanting something and knowing you’ll never have it because the same someone else always gets it? Someone who doesn’t even _want_ it? Everything was perfectly fine before you decided you wanted to start showing up. Jon and I would probably have even been married by now if it wasn’t for you.”

“Oh my gods, you’re delusional,” Sansa whispered in disbelief. It didn’t matter how soft or loudly she spoke though, it seemed that Daenerys was on a one way track in her tirade.

“Years of practically living in the Keep and hearing about this so-called betrothal and yet I’ve never even met you! So of course, the moment I hear the infamous _Lady Sansa Stark_ is finally going to grace King’s Landing with her presence, I just had to come and see for myself what all of the fuss about you was for. And of _course_ you’re exactly what I imagined. You waltz in here as if it’s your own home! With your perfect manners, your perfect talents, your perfect _courtesies.”_ The way she said courtesy as if it was a scathing remark added to Sansa’s confusion and disbelief. “Ever the sweet and _docile_ lady. So you want to know what my problem is? From what I’ve seen, you’re just some entitled girl who does what Mummy and Daddy tell her. You don’t deserve Jon. And you two show no affection to each other, so either you really _are_ just marrying him for his name and fortune, or you just do everything you’re told and will force him to live unhappily in the Red Keep with you for the rest of his life.”

Sansa had let Daenerys talk, it looked like whatever this woman was feeling, she needed to let it out. But gods have mercy on Daenerys now that she’s brought up Jon.

“Don’t you _dare_ presume you know what goes on between me and Jon,” she said, a dangerous glint in her eye. 

“I don’t have to,” Daenerys sneered. “Funny story: when I went to meet some friends the other day, they brought along a very distraught Joffrey Baratheon. A few drinks in and I come to find that the woman who inserts her way into Jon’s life doesn’t even want to _be_ in it. So I think I have a pretty good understanding of your _relationship_ with Jon.”

Sansa huffed at the air quotes Daenerys put around the word relationship. _So not only is she delusional, but she’s stupid as well._ “Actually, Daenerys, you don’t understand anything about our relationship.”

Daenerys was about to retort, but Sansa wouldn’t have that. She stood up now, using her full height to her advantage. 

“No. I let you talk, it’s my turn. First of all, I’m _sorry_ that you lost your parents when you were younger. But that doesn’t give you a free pass to act like a child _now._ And not that _any_ of it is even your business, but Jon already knows about Joffrey and my very _teenaged_ relationship. But it seems like _you_ don’t know anything. Why do you think Jon sent him away? Can’t be jealousy, because according to you, Jon doesn’t even like me. Did your good friend, Joffrey, tell you why he was disinherited? You should ask him. And while you’re at it, ask him about how he kept stalking me for weeks after I dumped him. Hoping that if he secured my hand, he’d be set for life on Stark fortune.”

Sansa took a breath and watched as the other woman’s forehead crinkled. Clearly she didn’t know what she was talking about. Sansa didn’t care.

“And for the record, just because Jon and I don’t announce to the world of our affection for each other or post everything we do on social media, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Despite what you think, lack of photographs doesn’t mean something didn’t happen, Daenerys. So excuse me if I find it laughable that you would even think that you and Jon could have been married by now if I wasn’t betrothed to him. You act like you’re madly in love with him when the truth is, you don’t even know him.”

“And you do?” Daenerys countered.

“I know him better than _you._ And I learn more about him everyday.” Sansa shook her head. “And Jon isn’t something to be _deserved,_ Daenerys. He’s a person, not a trophy. And you know what? You go on and on and claim to have grown up living here and never seeing me, but I could say the same thing. I’ve spent my fair share of time in the Red Keep over the years too and I’ve never seen you.”

“Because,” Daenerys said coolly, “Whenever there were visitors, King Rhaegar would always _gently suggest_ I go back to Balerion Abbey. He would say, ‘The Stormborn House must miss its lady.’ Never mind that I was barely old enough to even be a Lady of the house.” She looked away from Sansa then. “Never mind that the Red Keep has been more of a home to me then an empty estate ever has,” she added bitterly. 

It was like a lightbulb went off. Sansa was annoyed to admit it, but the pity she felt days ago reared its head back. So she had a decision to make. Continue this stupid feud, or be the bigger person. One was certainly more tempting than the other. She sighed.

“Daenerys,” she said gently. _“When_ Jon and I marry, nothing for you changes. Just because I’ll be living here permanently, doesn’t mean you’ll get kicked out of the Red Keep.”

“Not getting kicked out doesn’t mean not being left forgotten,” she said quietly. 

Sansa felt for Daenerys, she did. But when Sansa moved to comfort her, the other woman took a step back. She tilted her chin and Sansa saw the vulnerability in her eyes were gone. Only a hardened glare was shown.

“But I’d rather be a villain in someone else’s story than a footnote in mine,” she said defiantly before walking towards the door. She slammed it on her way out.

Sansa stood in shock for a moment before she sat back down. She let out a loud groan and called out, “You can come out now!”

A sheepish looking Jeyne opened the door. “Is it safe? Lizard lady’s gone?”

Sansa snorted. Jeyne sat down and looked at her lady, her friend. She sighed.

“Sansa, you can’t save them all.” 

“I just- I don’t understand her.”

“You don’t have to,” Jeyne replied. “Whatever her problems are, they’re not yours to fix. You said what you could, the rest is up to her. And if she chooses to be a bitch, then there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“I know, you’re right.”

“I always am,” Jeyne primly said, before asking, “By the way, how did you know I was still awake?”

“Best friend intuition.” When Sansa saw Jeyne’s raised eyebrow, she added, “And I saw you turn your light on. You’re a great assistant Jeyne, but you’d make a _terrible_ spy.” 

“Damn.”

The two looked at each other before dissolving into a fit of giggles. 

\--

“Good morning, sweetheart, sleep well?” 

“Nope!” Jon’s easy smile fell into a look of concern, but Sansa continued. “Don’t fret, a story for another day. Now, what can I help you with so early in the morning?” She smiled at him, reassuringly. And that was all the encouragement he needed.

“Happy Christmas, Sansa!” He moved to the side of the door and picked something up. When he turned back to Sansa, she squealed with delight at what she saw.

“Oh my goodness! Look at these fluff balls,” she cooed at the large basket that carried the two puppies from the shelter. “Jon! What? I don’t- When did you even-? Ohhh my gods, look how precious they are!” Picking up both puppies, she carried them into the room and sat down on the carpet. Jon thinks the sight of her is more precious, but he’ll keep that opinion to himself. 

“They just got here this morning,” he explained as he joined her on the floor. “Adoption paperwork all went through and Satin picked them up for me.”

“Satin deserves a raise,” she quickly replied.

“What, and I don’t?” Jeyne snorted. She walked bleary-eyed out of her room and looked from the puppies in Sansa’s arms to Jon. She rolled her eyes. “Of course the thing that makes Sansa Stark so excited in the morning is _puppies.”_

“But look how cute they are!” Sansa protested. “How _small.”_

“Actually,” Jon said. “This particular breed of dog will grow up to be quite large.”

Jeyne groaned and turned back around to her room.

“Jeyne, where are you going?” Sansa asked.

“To order lint rollers by the dozen.”

Jon bit back a laugh. “I’m sorry, Miss Poole.”

She turned around and looked at him. “You realize we’re all still in our nightwear, right?”

Jon looked down and blushed. To be fair, he was excited to give Sansa her present. And he didn’t think he’d run unto anyone else.

“Also,” Jeyne continued, “You’re marrying my best friend. I _think_ you can call me Jeyne now. We’re there. We’ve reached _that point.”_

Jon cracked a smile. “Well then Jeyne, feel free to call me Jon.”

Jeyne smirked at him and continued to her room and closed the door. When Jon turned back to Sansa, he saw her shaking her head in disappointment.

“I hope you know, Jeyne will _absolutely_ be calling you Jon from now on.”

“And that’s bad because…?”

“Because every time she calls you ‘Prince Jon’ now, you’ll know, deep down in your soul, that she’s mocking you.”

Jon snapped his head to look at Jeyne’s closed bedroom door. Apparently he and Sansa had similar tastes when it came to friends.

“Now, since you’ve given me my Christmas present, I’ll go get yours.” She stood up and went to her room. After a moment, Sansa returned with a small package in hand. “Well, it’s not as good as puppies, but I hope you like it.”

When Jon opened the gift, he pulled out a very fine looking pocket square. 

Sansa scratched behind her ear. “I know it’s not much, it’s just- well, homemade gifts are a pretty big thing in my family, so-”

“You _made_ this?” Jon looked at the detailed embroidery. There was a grey direwolf and a black three-headed dragon, with a red sun in the background. He loved the touch of Elia in there. 

“Um, yes?” Sansa replied uncertainly.

“It’s incredible, Sansa. _Thank you.”_ He leaned in for a kiss. When he started to pull away, Sansa put a hand behind his neck and the other on his cheek, keeping his lips on hers.

Soft morning kisses with Sansa was something Jon could easily get used to.

\--

As Sansa walked down the staircase leading towards the ballroom, she gasped. The castle had already been decorated for the holiday season, but now everything just looked so much… _more_. Everything was gorgeous. How Elia managed to transform the castle seemingly overnight was very impressive to Sansa. She’s had a good amount of practice in planning for parties and balls, but she’s never quite done something of this caliber. Of course, Sansa supposes it does help to have dozens of workers at your disposal. She had offered to help, but the Queen waved her off. So Sansa spent most of the day with Rhaenys and Aegon, both of whom delighted in playing with the new pets. 

After the initial shock and joy of them, Sansa admitted to Jon that she was unsure how she was supposed to take care of two new pups, especially considering the fact that she had to leave for Winterfell in a few days. So he came up with a solution. He’ll take one pup, and she can take the other. 

“They’ll both end up together again soon enough,” he had said with a smile. 

When deciding on a name, Jon chose Ghost. “For the color of his coat. This fur is white as a ghost.” 

Sansa called him basic for that. When he asked her what she named her dog, she replied, “Lady.” When Jon quirked his brow, Sansa explained.

“Because she and I are one. Lady Sansa.”

Jon had smiled at her. “Lady and the Ghost.”

Right now, Lady and Ghost were with someone Jon said had been assigned by Satin to watch over them. And Sansa wouldn’t put it past the royal family to have a royal pet sitter or something like that, what with their excessive refrigerators. 

When Sansa reached the bottom step, she spotted Jon and smiled. He looked incredibly handsome in a tux. Sansa quite liked it. And seeing the pocket square tucked in his suit jacket warmed her heart. She was walking towards him when he turned around.

“Sansa!” 

She blushed as his eyes roamed over her. Jon didn’t make her feel like an object when he looked at her like that, he made her feel pretty. Attractive. She felt warm all over. When his eyes landed back on hers, his eyes darkened and she blushed harder.

“You look radiant, Sansa. Absolutely breathtaking,” he said.

“You look very dashing yourself, Jon,” she replied shyly.

They continued to stare at one another until they heard someone clear their throat.

“Oh, my apologies!” Jon said abashedly. He turned and faced his companion. “Sam, I’d like to introduce you to Lady Sansa Stark, my fiancée. Sansa, this is Lord Samwell Tarly, my oldest friend.”

Lord Samwell bowed to her. “Lovely to finally meet you, Lady Sansa.” 

Sansa smiled as she noticed the look he gave Jon at the word ‘finally.’ 

“And it’s good to meet you as well, Lord Samwell. But I must insist, any friend of Jon’s is a friend of mine. Please, call me Sansa.”

He chuckled, “Very well, _Sansa._ Then it would please me for you to call me Sam. Ah! And perfect timing. Sansa, may I introduce you to my darling wife, Gilly? Gilly, this is Sansa, Jon’s _fiancée.”_

Gilly’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “So you’re real?” 

After realizing what she just said and _who_ she just said it to, she clapped a hand over her mouth. It didn’t matter though, everyone around heard.

“Who’s real, Gilly?” said a man whom Sansa did not recognize, though it looked like Jon and Sam did. He was standing with two other men. _They must all be friends._ Sansa looked at Jon, who was getting redder by the second, and smirked.

“Apparently, _I’m_ real,” she said with amusement. “I’m Lady Sansa Stark.”

The man who asked the question looked shocked, but quickly recovered. “It’s nice to meet you, Lady Sansa.”

The other two he was with, however, did not have the same tact. They were excitedly gesturing to her while looking at Jon, wide smiles on their faces. She chuckled softly and looked expectantly at Jon.

“This is Lord Eddison Tollett,” Jon sighed. Then he shot a look at the other two and waved his hand half-heartedly at them. “And that’s Grenn and Pypar. These are my University friends that I’m starting to regret ever inviting.” 

“Excuse me?” Sam laughed.

One of the men, Pypar she thinks, clutched at his heart. “You wound me Jonny!”

Sansa snapped her head to Jon, a smile growing larger and larger on her face.

“It’s _Prince Jon,”_ he grumbled. Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to say.

His friends all snorted.

“Yeah, okay _Prince Jon,”_ the man named Grenn said. 

“Didn’t mean to offend, _Your Majesty,”_ Lord Eddison said. 

After some more chuckling at Jon’s expense, Sam started waving his hands. “Alright, alright. We better go find our seats now, I’m sure dinner is ready to be served soon.”

“I’m so sorry,” Gilly said, “For… well, all of _that_. Er, my Lady.” She awkwardly began to curtsy when Sansa put a hand on her to stop her.

“Oh no, please,” she said. “None one of that. It’s just Sansa.” She smiled at everyone, making sure they understood that she meant that for all of them.

“We’ll talk later, _Prince Jon?”_ Sam added teasingly. “Sansa, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Oh, believe me, the pleasure was all mine.” And it was true. Not just because his friends teased Jon. It was a comfort she hadn’t been expecting, to learn that Jon wasn’t just friends with nobility, but made friends with anyone he liked. He reminded her of Arya in that respect. 

\--

When his friends walked off, Jon turned to Sansa and saw nothing but pure mirth in her eyes. She opened her mouth but he quickly cut her off.

“Don’t.”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“And you’re not going to.”

“Ooh, someone sounds like a very _petulant_ prince.” 

When Jon gave her nothing, she mouthed ‘Jonny’ to him and he shot her a playful glare. She laughed.

As the last group of people were slowly entering the ballroom, Sansa asked if they should go get their seats too. Jon started to sweat.

“Uh, not yet,” he said vaguely. When the last person left the hall, Jon gestured to one of the footmen to shut the doors.

“Jon?”

“I have one more gift for you.” He said. “So, I had planned on giving this to you days ago, actually, but something or another kept happening. And when there was nothing happening, I always seemed to forget. Or got nervous. And -uh- if you don’t like it, you know, you can always just- you can give it back. Or- something. And don’t feel pressured about it either, okay? It’s not a big deal and-”

“Jon?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re rambling.”

He huffed a laugh before straightening his back and clearing his throat. Jon stuck his hand in his suit jacket and pulled out a small box from the inner pocket. 

“Now, I know I'm just a tad bit late on this,” he chuckled. “But Sansa, would you do me the honor of wearing this tonight?”

\--

Sansa gasped when Jon revealed what was in the box. It was a ring. But it wasn’t just any ring. It was the same ring she saw in Queen Lyanna’s portrait. Tears began forming in her eyes.

“Jon…” she whispered. 

“Do you like it?”

Untrusting of her voice right now, she looked up to him and nodded happily.

“Good, it -uh- it was my mother’s. She gave it to my father before she passed. Told him to give it to me when the time was right. Apparently, when you accepted our invitation this year, he deemed it the right time.”

The tears were starting to leak now and Sansa tilted her head back.

“Oh gods, Jeyne’s going to kill me if I ruin my makeup,” she laughed.

“More like she’ll kill _me_ for making you cry,” Jon said ruefully. He handed her a handkerchief to dab her eyes. 

After she was done, she took a deep breath and smiled at him.

“So, is that a-”

“Yes, Jon,” she was laughing again. “Yes I would be incredibly honored to wear it.”

Once Jon slipped the engagement ring on her finger, she pulled him in for a kiss.

She spoke into the kiss, “It’s a perfect fit.”

“Oh thank gods. That means I don’t have to go to the jeweler.”

She laughed in between more kisses.

When they pulled apart, she gazed adoringly into his eyes. Suddenly, a ding came from Jon’s pocket. He closed his eyes and chuckled. 

“And that must be Satin telling us to hurry in for dinner.”

\--

Before he nodded to the footman to open the doors, he turned to Sansa.

“There’s one more surprise.”

But before she could ask, the doors opened and they were greeted with six drummers on each side playing a short tune. 

When they finished, an announcer declared, “Presenting: Prince Jon Targaryen and his fiancée, Lady Sansa Stark.”

In the midst of the loud applause, Sansa looked at Jon, shock and confusion covering her face.

“I told you,” he said, a large grin on his face. “You deserve the best. And now everyone everywhere will know that Jon Targaryen intends to make Sansa Stark his bride.”

Sansa beamed at him and looked over to the head table and saw the King and Queen, Rhaenys and Aegon, Arianne and even Daenerys -though unsmiling, all clapping along with everyone in attendance. Her eyes continued to roam until they landed on something that made tears spring out of them again. There was Jeyne, holding her tablet facing Sansa, with her entire family on the screen, waving excitedly to her. She waved back. If she knows Robb and Arya, she knows they’re making a spectacle of it all and her face is probably blown up on some massive screen for all of Winterfell’s current guests to watch as well.

\--

Jon was having the most wonderful night. Nothing went wrong and he was basking in the glow that was Sansa Stark. Normally, he hates the attention and loathed mingling with other Lords and Ladies, but not tonight. Tonight, every congratulation he got and every question about when the wedding was going to be just made him happier. 

After his parents made a show of cutting the cake, it was taken over by the professionals and sliced and passed out.

When Sansa took a bite, her eyes lit up. “Lemon!”

Jon smiled at her enthusiastically taking another bite. “Your favourite, right?”

She beamed at him and nodded. But before either of them could say anything else, they were interrupted. 

“Of _course_ it’s her favourite, Jon! I _told_ you that!”

Sansa’s jaw dropped when she looked amusedly from Aegon to him. Jon had the decency to at least look sheepish.

“You couldn’t let me have this, Aegon?”

“No,” his little brother sniffed. 

Sansa laughed. “Well, as a thank you for the delicious cake choice, would you care for a dance, Aegon?”

The boy’s eyes lit up. “Yes, please!”

Jon shook his head as he watched Sansa dancing with his little brother. He turned to Rhaenys just then.

“Care for a dance, little sister?”

She frowned at him. “That depends. Are you going to step on my foot?”

Arianne snorted into her wine.

“No!” Jon said indignantly.

“I wouldn’t trust that, Rhae,” Arianne said in a singsong voice.

Jon sighed. “I won’t step on your feet, Rhae. I promise.”

She looked at him dubiously before relenting. “One dance. And if you step anywhere near my feet, I’ll shave your hair off when you’re sleeping.”

Jon shook his head at what he just heard. Then he glared at Arianne. “Rhaenys, you need to stop hanging out with Arianne.”

The woman let out a full bellied laugh.

\--

After some twirls with Aegon, Jon and Rhaenys joined them. And soon, the four of them were joined by Jeyne and Pod, the latter having gotten permission to have the night off and was in attendance as a guest. Eventually, Arianne joined them too. As did Jon’s friends. Everyone was having a good time. Sansa even saw Brienne being approached by a blonde-haired man. 

This night was truly amazing and Sansa was having the best time. She couldn’t help but think about how she proved her mother that she was right.

Sansa had all the company in the world in King’s Landing.

\--

“Do you have to go?”

Sansa laughed softly at him. “Yes, Jon. It’s time for me to head back to Winterfell.”

They were the KL Airport. One of the perks of being a royal though was the privacy of their own hanger. They could take all the time they wanted. 

He sighed, “I know.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it!” 

“Alright. Text or call me as soon as you land, okay?”

“I’ll text you the moment I sit on that plane.”

“You promise?”

“Cross my heart.” Sansa made the ‘x’ motion over her heart to prove a point. “We’ll be seeing each other again really soon, alright, my love?”

Jon and Sansa both briefly short-circuited. This was the first time that word was spoken between them.

Jon’s lip twitched. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

He was full on grinning now. “No, what did you say?”

She blinked up at him.

“‘Truth and transparency,’ Sansa,” he reminded her.

Sansa made some noncommittal noises as she shrugged and Jon laughed. He pulled her in a last hug and kissed her forehead. “I love you too,” he whispered. She melted in his arms and gave him a muffled, “Luffyou.”

When they let go, she started walking backwards, but had to turn to walk up the steps. She waved on last time before stepping through the plane door. 

Once Sansa took her seat next to Lady and Jeyne and Brienne, she opened her phone and sent Jon a text, as promised.

\--

Jon stared at the airplane for a few moments when suddenly his phone dinged. Jon opened the text and frowned in confusion. Sansa sent him a link to a youtube video and captioned it “watch with earphones.” Not the kind of text he was expecting.

After her plane took off, Jon got into the car with Satin. He put on earphones and clicked the link. And in a few moments, he started laughing hysterically. Waving off Satin’s look of concern and telling him he’ll show him in a moment, Jon exited the video and opened up his text messages with Sansa. He sent her several question marks and cry-laughing emojis. Her response made him laugh harder.

“Arianne sent me the video, I sent it to my siblings, Bran sent an edited version back. Do NOT share publicly, Bran does not want credit.”

After reading the text, Jon gave Satin his phone and told him to watch. Satin laughed so hard he started wheezing. The rest of the car ride home was spent rewatching a video titled “Mother Goose attacks Barbie to Mii Channel Theme.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO READ, KUDOS, OR COMMENTED!!!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW EXCITING THIS WAS FOR ME!!  
> i mean like i had an outline, but it was still just me, winging it everyday 💀😂  
> this story has become my baby and i love it to bits BUT UM-  
>   
> what's the best thing about hallmark holiday romcoms? SEQUELS  
> *throws confetti*  
> SEE YOU NEXT TIME, MY LOVELIES💕💕  
> (ps, my jonsa ss gift was just revealed! if you're craving some holiday jonsa, you can read that!😉 [along with all the other fanTASTIC gifts!])
> 
> *edit: the sequel prolly won't come soon guys LOL💀😂


	13. auld lang syne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

“Aw, you miss him, don’t you, Lady? I know exactly how you feel.”

“Oh my gods. Sansa, it’s barely been three days. How are you missing Jon already?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” her older sister denied. 

When Arya walked into the room, Sansa straightened her back, surely thinking that slouching was not becoming of a lady. She joined Sansa and Lady on the giant bed at the far end of Sansa’s room. 

“I was talking about Ghost. Isn’t that right, Lady?” Sansa cooed to Lady.

The puppy in question let out a squeaky _ruff_ and Sansa grinned smugly. 

Arya scrunched her face. “Neat trick,” she admitted. For a moment, all Arya did was watch Sansa play with Lady. She was about to say something when Sansa’s phone dinged. As she watched her sister smile softly at her phone, Arya rolled her eyes. “Wow, you really can’t go a few minutes without talking to him, can you? Always the _simpering_ Lady, aren’t we?”

Sansa glared playfully at her. “Excuse me! Don’t act like you and Gendry never whispered sweet nothings to each other when you were just starting to date.”

“Untrue,” Arya sniffed. “Besides, like you said, Gendry and I are just dating. It’s not like I’ve been engaged to the Crown Prince since birth or anything. I didn’t have the luxury of knowing Gendry for years. I mean, we can’t _all_ be the perfect image of the privileged wealthy Lady about to marry a Prince.” She knew her tone was mocking, but she couldn’t help it. Teasing Sansa was her favourite pastime. 

Sansa snorted at her remark though. “Oh, sorry for living the life of a privileged Lady. I guess we can’t all be like _you,_ can we? Someone who’s dating a Lord’s son? Someone who’s been taking professional fencing lessons since she was what? Ten? Someone who goes riding on our private grounds on her _personal_ horse when she needs to _ponder her thoughts?”_ Sansa’s tone was equally mocking. “Arya, you are the _literal_ definition of a fancy rich girl.”

She grumbled at Sansa’s pointed look. “Oh, shut up.” 

The two young women continued to stare at each other until Arya’s lips twitched. And that was the catalyst for Sansa to start laughing. Soon, both sisters were found giggling so loudly that Lady started yipping too. Their excitement was contagious. When the laughter subsided, Arya smiled softly at Sansa.

“Well, anyways. Regardless of who’s more of a Lady, I’m glad to see you’re happy, Sans,” she said to her sister, “If I’m being honest, I was a little worried. You and Jon were always… courteous with each other, but not like how betrothed couples should be, you know? And you never really played with us when we were younger, so I just always assumed you didn’t like him.” 

“I didn’t realize you care so much,” Sansa replied teasingly. 

“I don’t.” Arya cleared her throat then, uncomfortable with emotion. “I’m just glad to know you’re happy with him. You are, right? Happy?” 

“Yes, Arya, I am. I mean come on, you saw that engagement party, right? How can I not be?” Sansa chuckled softly, remembering the Christmas Ball.

“Yeah, I saw,” Arya nodded, “It was a pretty and grand gesture. It was nice. You always did like nice and pretty things.”

Sansa looked up at her. “Stop.”

“What?”

“Arya,” Sansa sighed, “I know what you’re thinking. And I appreciate it, I do. But it’s different now. And Jon isn’t out here trying to _buy_ my affection or anything. You know him, he’s not like that.”

Arya pursed her lips. “What I know is last week, you were a nervous wreck. But yes, Jon is a good man, there’s no doubt about that. I just want to make sure you’re not putting on a face, is all. You have a nasty habit of pretending everything’s okay, even when it’s not.”

Sansa looked at her before grinning. “Aw, you _do_ care about me!” She immediately jumped over and hugged Arya, accidentally squishing Lady on the way. The puppy barked and jumped off the bed and ran towards her own little bed in the corner.

“Ugh, get off of me!”

Sansa just laughed harder and held on tighter.

“What’s this? Stark women hugging, and I’m not invited?”

\--

Catelyn heard noises from her eldest daughters’ bedroom and walked over, wondering if her girls were in there. And she was met with a lovely scene. Her daughters were embracing each other.

“Mother! Make Sansa let go, I’m going to suffocate!”

Catelyn did nothing of the sort, she just laughed. “How you two can claim to be adults is beyond me.”

With a loud kiss to Arya’s forehead, Sansa finally let go and turned to her. “Excuse me, Mother! I’m going to be married soon. I am _absolutely_ an adult.”

Arya snorted.

“Yes,” Catelyn replied sweetly, “You’ll be married next year, won’t you?” She knew there was a wistful look on her face, but she just couldn’t help it. “And I wish you all the happiness in your future marriage, my darling.” She sighed. Her daughter was going to get married and move out and start her own family and honestly, Catelyn just wasn’t ready for that. 

“Oh no, not you too.”

Taken out of her reverie, Catelyn looked at Sansa. “What do you mean?”

Her daughter chuckled. “You two, honestly. Look, Jon is good to me. He’s kind, he’s thoughtful, he’s sweet. He _loves_ me. I am very much happy.”

Catelyn saw her youngest daughter’s eyebrows shoot up the same time hers did. “He’s told you that he loves you?”

Sansa blushed. “Er, yeah. Yes, he did.” 

And when Catelyn saw the faint smile on her daughter’s face, she smiled too. All she ever wanted was for her children to have happiness and love in their lives. If they have that, then it’s good enough for her.

\--

Ned was settling in bed when his wife joined him. Even though he noticed the thoughtful expression on her face, he didn’t say anything. He knows that she’ll talk when she’s ready. And it seemed once the lights were off and she was in bed with him, she was ready.

“Apparently, Jon Targaryen loves our daughter.”

“I do hope you mean Sansa, otherwise, that’s a whole new set of problems that we definitely aren’t equipped to deal with,” he joked, hoping to relieve whatever tension seemed to be weighing on his wife’s mind. It worked.

“Ned, be serious!” She lightly slapped his shoulder and they both chuckled.

“I am serious! If you mean Sansa, and I’m sure you do, isn’t this a good thing? It’s what we wanted for her. To find someone to love her.”

Cat sighed. “I know. But I can’t but think it’s a bit fast, no? Just last week, I had to talk her into even going down there for Christmas. And now she’s back and they’re in love?”

“She loves him back?”

“Well, she didn’t say it, but the look on her face when she told me he loves her was telling enough.”

Ned turned in bed to face Cat and thought carefully about what he wanted to say next. “We don’t know what happened during her stay in King’s Landing, but we saw the ending. We saw Jon finally officially announcing his intentions. We saw him coordinating with Jeyne to have us on call during the announcements. We saw how happy they looked. We certainly saw a very pretty ring on Sansa’s hand when she returned. I think, love, we should hold off on assumptions. Sansa’s going back down next month, right? Let’s go with her. See for ourselves how they are around each other.”

Cat smiled softly and nodded. “You’re right. For now, let us sleep. We’ve got a full day of finalizing the New Year’s Eve party ahead of us.”

As they were falling asleep, Ned’s mind wandered back to his daughter. He had wanted her to have an epic, romantic love. Perhaps one like Robb’s: fast and exciting and passionate. Or maybe one like his and Cat’s: slow-building and quiet and comforting. But as Ned continued thinking about it, he landed on a thought. What if Sansa and Jon simply had both? They certainly had the foundation to build something solid on. Maybe that allowed them to fall hard and fast. Maybe they did have an exhilarating romance. One that ended in something soft and comforting for them. Ned supposes he has to wait and see.

\--

By the time Sansa and Arya were the last to arrive for breakfast, Robb was already bouncing his leg in anticipation. But he knew he should probably let his sisters eat first. Also, it’s not like there was anything to show for his announcement anyways, he was still waiting. And as luck would have it, time was on his side. As soon as everyone was finishing up their breakfast, he got a text. And he rolled his eyes when he read it. _Why is he so worried?_

Robb cleared his throat. “So, now that everyone’s done, I have a sort of surprise.”

“What is, Robb?” his mother asked.

“It’s more of something I wanna show you. Let’s all go out to the front of the house, alright?”

“But it’s cold,” whined Rickon. 

“Put on a coat,” he replied before starting to usher everyone out of the room.

“Robb?” His wife looked at him with confusion. She wasn’t used to not knowing his plans, so he gave her his phone. She smiled at him when she read the texts that he got this morning. Talisa then went on ahead as he waited for everyone to leave the dining room.

“Sansa, hurry up.”

She was doing something on her phone. “Hold on, I’m confirming with Jeyne about which charities tomorrow’s party will be benefiting.”

Robb rolled his eyes at his little sister. Always working. “Isn’t she supposed to be on break and visiting her father? You two can work on that tomorrow. Never mind. It can wait a moment. Just- come on!” After she pocketed her phone, he grabbed her and they headed towards the rest of the family. Once everyone was outside and confused, they saw a car pulling in.

“Robb,” his father admonished, “If you planned on having a guest over, you should have told us so we could prepare a guest room.”

He just smiled. “Sorry, this person just told me this morning that they were in town.”

“Well that’s rather rude of them.”

Robb smirked at Sansa’s remark.

“Is it Theon?” Rickon asked.

“Nope, not Theon,” he replied to his youngest brother.

“Why do we _all_ have to be out here?” Arya asked.

“Yeah,” Bran agreed, “We usually don’t greet our guests like this unless it’s for something formal.”

When he still didn’t say anything, his mother called out, “Robb?”

“He’s getting out of the car now, smile everyone. Our guest has arrived.”

Everyone turned to watch as the chauffeur opened the car door. And out came-

\--

“Jon?” Sansa whispered in disbelief. What was he doing here? Forgetting propriety, Sansa walked towards the car. Towards him. Her confusion morphed into delight when all he could do was muster up a shrug and a sheepish smile.

“I didn’t feel like waiting a few weeks.” He opened his arms as Sansa practically flung herself at him. “Hello, love.”

“You came here,” she whispered to him.

“Christmas with mine and New Year with yours. Seemed right.” He gazed adoringly at her before realizing their more than slightly compromising position. As he pulled back and cleared his throat, Sansa must have realized the same, because she flushed and then faced her family too.

As soon as they were facing her family, Lady Catelyn addressed him.

“It’s lovely of you to come visit, Prince Jon. It’s good to see you,” she said before curtsying. Her family followed suit.

“Oh, please don’t.” He waved his hands awkwardly at them. “You don’t need to do that. We’re going to be family after all.” He looked down at Sansa, who returned his smile. He didn’t notice the mirrored smiles that Lord and Lady Stark shared. But when he turned back to them, he did notice a look that said an explanation would be greatly appreciated. 

“I do apologize for the short notice, Lord Stark, Lady Stark-”

“Just ‘Ned’ and ‘Cat’ will be fine, Jon.”

“Right,” he nodded and smiled shyly before continuing, “I spoke with Robb this morning and he said you’d all be home today. I hope I’m not intruding.” By the surprised looks on the Lord and Lady of Winterfell, Jon was slowly starting to realize that maybe he should have called them instead of Robb. The man in question smiled abashedly at his parents.

“Sorry,” he said to his parents, “I thought it’d be a fun surprise for everyone if I kept it secret.”

“A fun surprise indeed,” Sansa murmured to him.

\--

As the day went on, Catelyn and Ned kept sharing looks with each other. Perhaps they wouldn’t need to go with Sansa on her next trip to King’s Landing after all. They could see just how in love Jon and Sansa were right here in the walls of Winterfell. 

Unfortunately, so far, what Catelyn saw didn’t give her the impression of love. Of course, Jon’s surprise arrival was incredibly sweet. But as the day went on, Catelyn couldn’t help but notice the distance between the Prince and her daughter. When Sansa would lean in, Jon would straighten back. When they held hands for longer than a few seconds, Jon would squeeze it and let go. Catelyn wanted to believe Ned, but maybe she was right in assuming that Jon and Sansa only _fancied_ themselves in love. Nevertheless, she’s happy to see that at the least, they’re both making an effort. And that’s all she could ask for, really. 

\--

It was stupid, Arya knew. But she couldn’t help it. Sansa didn’t know, but Arya knew all about Joffrey Baratheon. It’s been years but she remembers the rumours at school well enough. Sure, she ended them before they could really start, but she heard them all the same. Then she heard what Sansa told their parents. That’s when Arya decided that maybe Sansa needed someone watching out for her. 

So that’s what Arya’s doing now. She’s watching out for Sansa. At least that’s what she’s telling herself as she spies on Jon and her older sister. She just wanted to see how they acted around each other, that’s all. They’re with Robb and Talisa right now, doing whatever it is that the Stark eldest children do to prepare for evening soirees. Planning parties and charities was never in her interests, but people watching? That was.

“What are we doing, Arya?” Came a whisper that had her heart jump ten feet into the air.

“Seven hells, Bran!” she furiously whispered back. “Give me a heart attack why don’t you?”

Ignoring her, Bran peeked in Robb’s study. “Why are we spying on Robb and Tal?” Arya gave him a look. “On Jon and Sansa?”

She rolled her eyes and walked away from the room, lest they get caught now that it was no longer quiet in the halls. Bran followed her.

“Why were we spying on Jon and Sansa?”

 _“We_ weren’t doing anything, Bran!”

Her younger brother squinted at her before nodding slowly. “Right, right. We weren’t doing anything. Wanna go check out the surveillance room and not do anything?”

“What the fu- no!” She shook her head at Bran. “Don’t you have a date with Meera or something?”

“She’s not coming over until tomorrow night with everyone else.” 

She rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving a very put out Bran.

\--

Dinner was a very… stifling affair. In Ned’s opinion, at least. He honestly didn’t think anyone would be on such good behaviour. But he supposes that is what happens when one’s guest is the Crown Prince. Oh, Jon can insist on getting rid of all formalities all he wants, but apparently, like Sansa, etiquette and social rules are ingrained in the lad. And it confused the Stark patriarch. Jon was acting like the perfect Prince and fiancé to Sansa. He was attentive, polite, and warm. But there was a noticeable distance between the two that Ned couldn’t put his finger on. And he wasn’t sure if he liked it. He prayed that what he was seeing wasn’t just some act; that Sansa and Jon weren’t simply putting on a show for everyone else’s sake. 

\--

It was nighttime and Jon was in the guest room, thinking about today’s events. And he couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his face. Surprising Sansa was one of his better ideas, by a long shot. He definitely had to send Satin a gift basket or something for arranging everything so quickly. 

He knew he probably should have given Sansa more warning, or at least given her parents more warning, but it was a last minute decision after talking with her last night. Jon couldn’t help it, he had missed her too much. 

Being around her family was a tad awkward though. Jon supposes it’s naïve of him to think that they could all just act how they used to. But truth be told, he hadn’t seen the entire Stark family since the beginning of the year, and that was back when things were still up in the air with Sansa. Now it’s not the same. He and Sansa have more than just an understanding between them, they have promises. And he’s a guest here, he doesn’t want to disrespect Lord and Lady Stark by being overly… _affectionate_ with Sansa. 

Before his mind could wander to more amorous thoughts of her, he heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was Robb, Jon called for him to enter.

It was, in fact, not Robb who entered, but the subject of his desires. 

“Sansa!”

“Hi.” She smiled at him before walking over and embracing him. Jon automatically responded and encircled his arms around her waist.

“Hello.” He pressed his forehead to hers and they stood there for just a moment, swaying. When they leaned back he smiled at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I missed you, thought I should see you sooner than tomorrow morning,” she replied. 

“Missed me? You just saw me.”

“Yeah, but I felt like you were gone all day.”

Jon furrowed his brow and chuckled at her. “What are you talking about? I was right next to you.”

Sansa sighed. “Yeah, you were standing next to me, but you still felt so far away.”

Jon frowned. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He pulled her closer, intent letting his tight embrace show her how much she means to him. She leaned up and kissed him, and Jon responded enthusiastically. When those _amorous_ thoughts of Sansa came back to the forefront of his mind though, he broke apart their kiss. Both of them were breathing just a bit heavier.

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “I suppose you should head back to bed now. Long day ahead tomorrow, and we’ll already be staying up pretty late for the countdown.” He gave her another smile before pressing his lips to her temple.

\--

It was Sansa’s turn to frown. Something must’ve happened since she last saw Jon in King’s Landing. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew she didn’t like it. She thought they were past this. Maybe that wasn’t the case? Whatever it was, she was determined to find out. Sansa refuses to have a repeat of the last few years.

“Jon, have I done something wrong?”

He looked at her with so much confusion that it actually made her feel relaxed. If he was confused by her question then maybe she was imagining it?

“No, of course not. What do you mean, Sansa?”

“It just feels like you’ve kept me at arm’s length all day. Like just now, you pulled away from me. So, I can’t help but think-”

“No! No, no it’s not what you’re thinking, love.” Jon was blushing now. He looked nervous. “It’s just- well you see, I um… I just don’t think it’s right? Or, no. I mean. I don’t think it’s proper, Sansa. We shouldn’t let our uh- I mean _I_ shouldn’t let my affections-”

“Proper?” Sansa interrupted him, knowing if she didn’t, he’d be rambling all night long. But also, she was really confused. “What do you mean by ‘proper,’ Jon?”

“It’s just” -he rubbed the back of his neck- “I don’t think we should be alone at night in my bedroom, unchaperoned.”

Sansa blinked at him, processing what he just said. When it hit her, she let out a loud and boisterous laugh. When Jon frowned at her though, she immediately clamped her hand over her mouth, ending her abrupt laughter.

 _“Unchaper-…?”_ She tried to hold it in, but still ended up dissolving into another fit of giggles. 

Jon groaned. “Sansa, please. We’re under your parents’ roof, I’ll not insult them like this.”

That got her to stop laughing. Still smiling, she looked at her fiancé and shook her head. “Jon-”

“Sansa, I don’t want to, I don’t know, tarnish your reputation.”

Sansa’s eyebrows shot up. She looked away from him for a moment then looked back. “Alright then, Jon Targaryen. I’ll leave now.”

Jon sighed. “Thank you. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Mhmm, sure. I suppose you’ll be packed by then?”

“Packed?”

“Yes, for your trip back to King’s Landing? Obviously, our relationship is progressing _way_ too fast. I propose the next time I see you will be in six months. In the meantime, you can court me. Send me sweet love letters and missives. Then maybe, _maybe,_ you’ll have earned the right to see my-” and she leaned in to whisper _“-bare ankle.”_

Jon stared at her, then snorted. “Alright. I see that perhaps I’ve gone a bit overboard.”

“A bit?’” she smirked.

“I’m sorry, I’m just not sure what the protocol is,” Jon sighed. He sat down on the bench at the end of his bed. “I don’t know what’s allowed and what’s not allowed. I don’t know what your parents are expecting from me. And you know, growing up, I was always taught that there was a proper way for princes to act. My father-”

“Hey,” she gently interrupted. “Let’s just say it’s safe to assume we can toss anything your father said out the window, okay?” She smiled and joined him on the bench. When Jon still wouldn’t meet her eye, she grabbed his hands in hers and brought his knuckles to her lips. “Love, we’re in this together. I know we’ve already talked about it, but I think it needs reminding. We’re throwing out any and all expectations, okay? If you aren’t sure about something, just ask me? And I’ll do the same. We’re learning together. It’s you and me, remember?” Jon didn’t respond to her, but she’ll wait until he’s ready. For the man she loves? She’ll wait forever. 

It didn’t take long though. Jon finally turned and looked at her and smiled. “You and me.” When she smiled at him, he closed his eyes and leaned in to press his lips against hers. That was definitely another thing that Sansa loved. How soft and warm his kisses always were. They always made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

At the thought of other things that made her feel warm and fuzzy, she had an idea. “Hey, love?” she whispered.

He hummed in response.

“You want some hot chocolate?”

When his eyes opened, they were filled with utter delight.

As they walked out his door, hand in hand, she snorted. “Gods, Jon. ‘Unchaperoned?’ ‘Tarnished reputation?’ What century are you living in?”

\--

Catelyn was feeling a bit restless. She didn’t know why, everything for tomorrow night was planned perfectly. Maybe it was because this was the first charity ball where she didn’t actually do anything. Robb and Talisa were starting to take over the little things like that, with Sansa’s help of course. It made her proud that her children were starting to fill their roles as young Lords and Ladies, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t sad. Catelyn is just thankful she and Ned had Rickon a bit later in life. He was still a young boy that she can dote on. 

Regardless, she couldn’t sleep. So she decided to head to the kitchen to make some tea. Something calming for her nerves. But when she neared the kitchens, she heard talking.

“Jon, stop!” 

Catelyn smiled when she heard her daughter giggling. She turned the corner and peaked in. Her daughter was stirring something in a small saucepan. Jon’s arms were around her, his chin tucked between her head and shoulder. Her heart clenched at the sight, just a bit. Sansa and Jon recreated a picture that Catelyn couldn’t help but think reminded her of herself and Ned. 

Suddenly, she wondered if Jon had just whispered something in Sansa’s ear, because the next thing she knew, Sansa shrugged off his embrace and turned around to scold him, despite the smile on her face.

“If you want burnt milk for your hot chocolate, then sure go ahead.”

The smile Jon gave her daughter as he advanced towards her was anything but innocent. Catelyn let them have their privacy and walked away. She suddenly had no need for tea anymore. She laughed softly at the last thing she heard coming from the kitchens.

“Prince Jon! In the kitchens?! What happened to propriety? What would your mother say?”

\--

The New Year’s Eve party was in full swing now. Everywhere Jon looked, people were laughing and looked like they were having so much fun. He even spied Podrick, who he insisted come along to “protect him,” chatting away with Jeyne. Jon liked this. There was a different atmosphere here at Winterfell than there was in King’s Landing. There was less formality. No firm, awkward schedule of events. No stiff political talks. Despite most of the guests here being many of the lesser lords of the North, they were all friendly with Eddard Stark. There was no sight of sycophants for the Earl of Winterfell. No simpering women trying to gain favor with the Lady Catelyn Stark. Everyone was just here to celebrate the new coming year. 

“Enjoying ourselves, are we?” Sansa found him watching the party go on around them. 

“It’s kind of amazing,” he admitted. After thanking her for the glass of champagne she brought him, he took a sip. “Is this what your Christmas parties are like too?”

Sansa took her time in answering. “I guess so. Although, I’m sure this year’s party was bigger. There were more people because we invited anyone in the city who wanted to come celebrate with us. Why?”

“Everyone here’s just so… I dunno. Friendly and trusting? It’s a lot different from King’s Landing parties is all.”

Sansa nodded. “Yeah, we aren’t as fancy as you Southroners,” she teased him.

Jon chuckled. “Well, I like it,” he responded as he looked around the great hall. “If your Christmas parties are anything like this, then maybe we should celebrate Christmas here next year?”

By the look on her face, Jon was sure Sansa liked the idea. But then she frowned and he was less sure.

“But, I thought we had to celebrate Christmas in King’s Landing next year? It’ll be the first Christmas we’re married, after all.”

“Who said that?”

“Your mother. She said that your father would say that the Crown Prince and Princess would need to celebrate Christmas in King’s Landing.”

Jon looked thoughtful before he smiled at her. “Didn’t we agree that it was safe to toss anything my father said out the window?”

Sansa laughed and grabbed him by the tie, pulling him into a kiss. His hands immediately searched for her waist and pulled her close. They kissed for a few moments before they were suddenly interrupted.

“Hey!” 

Jon and Sansa broke apart to see Rickon pointing an accusatory finger at him. 

“Why are you kissing my sister? It’s not midnight yet!”

The two looked at each other before a giggle started bubbling from Sansa and soon Jon joined in. He turned back to Sansa’s youngest brother.

“Come here, Rickon.”

When the boy came over, Jon picked him with a grunt. 

“Gods, you’re big,” he muttered before saying in a louder voice, “I’m sorry, Rickon, you’re absolutely right. But I think the countdown should happen any minute now.”

And as if on cue, Lord Stark stood up and raised a hand. The music was cut and the chattering stopped. He raised a glass and everyone followed suit.

“Another prosperous year, if I do say so myself,” he declared. “My family ends this year with immense joy and I hope yours does as well! With the new year approaching, I’d like to impart a piece of wisdom to you that I often remind my own children. It is important that we remember years past and to reflect on them; to learn from them. It’s important to reconnect with old friends; remind them that they aren’t forgotten. It is important to remember loved ones who aren’t with us any longer; to remember that though they aren’t with us in life, they are with us in spirit.”

Jon felt his eyes mist up at the thought of his mother, no longer physically with him, but still very much in his heart.

“So after today, I ask you all to pick up your phones and call a loved one you haven’t spoken to in a while. Chat with them for old time’s sake. May the new year bring more happiness and” -Jon swears Ned looked right into his eye- “more love. To new beginnings!”

“To new beginnings!” the crowd echoed.

Everyone took a sip of whatever drink they had when suddenly, Robb shouted, “Alright everyone, almost time for countdown!” He grabbed Talisa and spun her around as she laughed.

“Ten!”

Jon looked at Sansa.

“Nine!”

Sansa looked back at Jon.

“Eight!”

He smiled brightly at her.

“Seven!”

She returned it with her own grin.

“Six!”

His eyes flickered down.

“Five!”

She quirked a brow.

“Four!”

He wiggled his.

“Three!”

She rolled her eyes.

“Two!”

His grin turned smug.

“One!”

They both pressed their lips on either side of Rickon’s face.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

“UGH, GROSS! LET ME GO!”

He wiggled out of Jon’s arms and ran off. As Jon laughed, Sansa held his shoulders and pulled him into another kiss. 

They say who you’re with at the start of New Year is who you’re with for the rest of the year. If that’s the case, then Jon will gladly spend every future New Year’s Eve counting down the clock with Sansa if that means she’ll be with him for the rest of forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, walking in to fic writers anonymous:  
>   
> hi, my name is Kitty and i have no self control 🙋  
> who has two thumbs and no restraint? THIS GIRL😂😂
> 
> i realized i wasn't ready to let this story go just yet, SO YOU GUYS GET THIS. also i've created a series in case you want to maybe follow for the sequel? idk just a thought👀😂  
> okay forrealz now, SEE YOU GUYS NEXT CHRISTMAS  
> HAPPY NEW YEAR 🥳🥳🥳🎉🎊


End file.
